CAIRO: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reported on Sunday that leading political activist and columnist Abdel Halim Kandil was held at Jordan's Amman International Airport for 7 hours on May 15. ANHRI has denounced the security crackdown on the opposition leader, who had been traveling to Jordan in order to give a lecture commemorating 62 years of Palestinian occupation. He had been invited by a local Jordanians to give the talk. Abdel Halim Kandil, who is the General Coordinator of the Egyptian Movement for Change, Kefaya, was “surprised” upon arriving at the airport that Jordanian security has stopped him at the airport, “seized his passport and detained him at the request of the Jordanian intelligence, without giving any reasons.” Kandil was kept in detention for 7 hours before being allowed to enter Jordan at midnight, ANHRI reported. The pan-Arab network said that Jordan has become a “trap for activists and journalists. Although Egyptians traveling to Jordan do not need to get a visa, but at the airport, many activists and journalists are surprised to find themselves detained by Jordanian intelligence for hours, before allowing them in or deporting them to Cairo.” In December 2008, Gamal Eid, activist and ANHRI's Executive director was detained for 6 hours at Amman airport and was eventually deported to Cairo. Eid was on his way to attend some preparatory meetings for a training course for journalists in Jordan . “These practices of Jordanian intelligence prove falsity of statements of certain conniving human rights organizations bragging that freedom of expression in Jordan has the sky as the limit meanwhile restricting press freedom and freedom of movement by intelligence service,” ANHRI added. ANHRI continued to say that it “does not expect any dignifying stance from the Egyptian foreign ministry regarding the Jordanian intelligence's abuse of an Egyptian journalist, yet ANHRI would not hesitate in paying tribute to Egyptian foreign ministry if they shook off their indolence and submitted an inquiry to the Jordanian foreign ministry on the causes of stopping Kandil and detaining him for seven hours.” BM/ANHRI
