Ahlam Tamimi appeals to Jordan king to return husband home

Former prisoner Ahlam Tamimi, who was released from Israeli jails in 2011, has appealed to Jordanian King Abdullah II to return her husband home to Amman.

In a letter she sent to the king, Tamimi explained that she lived peacefully in Jordan for eight years with her husband Nizar Tamimi, who is also a former prisoner of Israeli jails and was freed in 2011.

She noted that the Jordanian authorities suddenly ordered her husband to leave the country as quickly as possible.

Her husband’s deportation from Jordan returned her to the life of separation as both of them were sentenced to several life terms inside Israeli jails. They were engaged while in prison and married in Jordan when they were liberated.

Israel has been seeking to extradite Tamimi, however, she was released in a prisoner swap reached with the Palestinian resistance in 2011.

Jordan has been under massive US pressure to extradite her. Media reported earlier this year that the US was considering withholding aid from Jordan in a bid to secure her extradition.

The Interpol branch in Jordan arrested her in 2017 in an attempt to extradite her, but Jordanian efforts led to her release after she spent only one night in police custody.

Tamimi is banned from appearing on TV as she worked as a TV presenter after her release, and has been forbidden from having a Facebook account.

This is her appeal to King Abdullah II:

Appeal of the Jordanian prisoner Ahlam Tamimi to His Majesty King Abdullah II

His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein, may Allah protect him

Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you

I am the Jordanian citizen Ahlam Tamimi, the wife of the freed Palestinian prisoner Nizar Tamimi. I am placing this appeal at the door of Your Majesty. You are the compassionate father of all Jordanians, an example of generosity and hospitality for everyone seeking asylum to this blessed country, bearing all the economic, political and social consequences.

Your Majesty

Under the leadership of Your Majesty, Jordan has embraced me and was a safe haven for me and my husband Nizar Tamimi after we were released from the prisons of the Israeli occupation. We lived the most beautiful days of our lives among the Jordanians in Jordan for nearly eight years. Then, we were surprised by an order that requested my husband to leave this country as quickly as possible, separating us from each other so that we were disunited and returned to the pain of separation again.

Your Majesty

I place this appeal in the hands of Your Majesty and I am addressing your tenderness as a father and your sympathy as an elder brother. I hope that you restore stability to the life of this family through the return of my husband to this blessed land and to his house and his wife.

We keep on praying for Your Majesty and for our country, Jordan, that most merciful God keep and protect you.

Your daughter Ahlam Tamimi