CAIRO: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has condemned the continued detention of four activists of the Committee of al-Tafila's Free Action by the security services following their participation in a sit-in on 6 March 2012 in al-Tafila district demanding job opportunities for the unemployed residents of the district. The State Security Court indicted Saed al-Awran, Yasser al-Sabalyeh, Fady al-Ubaideen, and Majdy al-Kabayleen on charges of disrespecting the Jordanian King, a charge that carries a possibility of three years' imprisonment. Al-Tafila district, located in the Jordanian capital of Amman, has witnessed several ongoing demonstrations and sit-ins since last January, where protesters have demanded job opportunities for the unemployed and denounced corruption. Subsequently, approximately 25 of the district's residents have been detained, including the four activists mentioned above. “Detaining citizens and activists who demand basic rights, rather than meeting their demands, will only further exacerbate the situation. The Jordanian government should have at least respected freedom of expression and the right to criticize, instead it responded with repression rather than jobs,” said ANHRI. “This action by the Jordanian authorities is a repressive measure against freedom of expression and is totally unacceptable and must be reversed. The Jordanian authorities have to immediately release the detainees and guarantee freedom of expression and assembly to all citizens,” added ANHRI. Jordan's king, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, and his wife, Queen Rania, who was educated at the American University in Cairo, have long presented themselves as models of progressive domestic policy makers and leaders of women's rights in the Arab world—however, that image has come under close scrutiny since the advent of the Arab Spring. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/p2I8y Tags: Human Rights, Jordan, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, Queen Rania Section: Human Rights, Jordan, Latest News
