HRW slams Jordan for jailing Brotherhood leader who criticised UAE

Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday criticised Jordan for imprisoning the Deputy Comptroller General of the Muslim Brotherhood Zaki Bani Irsheid after he criticised the UAE, stressing that “Jordan is not committed to ending its trials related to freedom of expression”.

Bani Irsheid was sentenced to 18 months in jail for “harming” UAE relations after he criticised the Gulf state following its decision to include the Muslim Brotherhood in a list of terror organisations.

HRW said that the “imprisonment judgment against Bani Irsheid highlights the fact that Jordan is not committed to implementing its promises to end the trials related to freedom of expression.”

It pointed out that the amendments to Jordan’s 2011 constitution indicated the “right of every Jordanian to express his opinion freely in speech and writing, but lawmakers did not abolish any legislations or trials that violate the right of citizens to freedom of expression.”

Executive Director of HRW of the Middle East and North Africa, Sarah Leah Watson, said: “Jordan should stop using its terrorism law to persecute its own citizens just because they criticise foreign leaders.”

“Jordanian officials will say they gave Bani Irsheid due process, but it’s the law itself which is inherently unjust.”

Bani Irsheid’s Facebook post in question does not call for violence. It accuses the UAE of collusion with Israel and calls for the UAE to be expelled from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab League, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Bani Irsheid was arrested on 20 November, 2014, after he criticised the UAE for blacklisting more than 80 Islamist groups including the Brotherhood, describing it as “the main sponsor of terrorism”.