Amman (dpa) – Activists stabbed a Jordanian police officer during a pro-democracy rally on Friday, according to officials, the latest escalation in tensions between pro-reformists and security services. Two “political activists” stabbed a police officer in the southern town of Tafileh, some 179 kilometers south of Amman, during a rally protesting the recent arrest of local pro-democracy activists, police spokesman Mohammed Khatib told dpa. The officer was transferred to a hospital in the nearby town of Karak and was in a “serious” condition, according to medical sources. Khatib said police believed the stabbing was “an act of retaliation” for the recent arrest of four prominent pro-reform activists for their alleged participation last week in a protest in Tafileh over unemployment which turned violent. Tafileh activists denied any connection to the stabbing in a statement issued after the rally, attended by around 1,000 people. Activists say the four were arrested because of their political views as part of a security sweep in the southern city after the sit-in last Monday. According to the activists' lawyer, Thaher Abu Jihad, the four men face charges of inciting violence and slandering the king before the military State Security Court. If convicted they face up to three years in prison. During Friday's rally – part of a series of nationwide pro-reform protests – protesters urged authorities to release the four, accusing the government of attempting to “silence” pro-reformers, witnesses said. Tafileh has been a center for Jordan's protest movement since it began in early 2011, fueled by high unemployment rates and claims that the recent privatization of state-owned industries has cost the area over 1,000 jobs. Unlike other Arab states, Jordan's largely peaceful protest movement calls for “regime reform” rather than regime change, with activists urging for constitutional amendments reducing the king's powers. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/2xQG9 Tags: Jordan, Police, Protest, Violence Section: Jordan, Latest News
