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Jordan king orders government to draft general amnesty law

December 14, 2018 at 10:56 am

Jordan’s King Abdullah II delivers a speech to the parliament in Amman, Jordan on 14 October 2018 [KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images]

Jordanian King Abdullah II yesterday ordered the Jordanian government to draft the general amnesty law in order to ease challenges and pressures facing citizens.

The King stressed the importance of preserving the rule of law so that there is no harm to national and community security and citizens’ rights.

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The new law pardons several thousand people jailed for convictions ranging from petty theft to embezzlement but excludes terror, treason and premeditated murder.

Jordanian lawyer Tayseer Al-Abadi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news site that he believes the law is an effort to defuse tensions as hundreds of Jordanians took to the streets in the capital Amman to protest against the government’s planned tax increases and high unemployment rates.