
Jordan: Activist’s five-year prison sentence for peaceful criticism upheld amid escalating repression
In response to the ruling by Jordan’s State Security Court to uphold its conviction and five-year prison sentence against political activist Ayman Sanduka on 15 September for a Facebook post addressed to the King in which he criticized Jordan’s policies, Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said:
Equating criticism of government policy with incitement against the regime is a dangerous distortion of justice and sends a chilling message that peaceful dissent, including that related to Israel, is not tolerated in Jordan. Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International.
“The decision to uphold Ayman Sanduka’s conviction is a deeply alarming sign of Jordan’s accelerating rollback of the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Ayman Sanduka should never have been detained in the first place; he was imprisoned solely for expressing his views online. Equating criticism of government policy with incitement against the regime is a dangerous distortion of justice and sends a chilling message that peaceful dissent, including that related to Israel, is not tolerated in Jordan.
“The Jordanian authorities must drop all charges and immediately and unconditionally release Ayman Sanduka. Arrest or detention as punishment for the legitimate exercise of human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, is arbitrary and violates Jordan’s obligations under international law.”