US embassy cable - 04AMMAN7959

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007959 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KMPI, JO 
SUBJECT: DEATH OF PRISON INMATE AND RELATED ABUSE 
ALLEGATIONS 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) A report on abuses in Jordanian prisons, including 
the alleged beating death of an inmate, has prompted 
government and press inquiries.  End Summary. 
 
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DEATH AT AL-JUWEIDEH 
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2.  (U) On September 19, the Jordanian press made public a 
report by the Jordanian National Center for Human Rights 
(NCHR) claiming "serious human rights violations" at some 
Jordanian prisons.  The report, given earlier in the month to 
the GOJ, highlighted the death of a prisoner at the 
Al-Juweideh Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre (notorious 
for housing some of Jordan's most violent detainees) 
following a severe beating by prison guards during an inmate 
brawl September 1.  The report further claimed that inmates 
at other prisons were being subjected to "beatings, lashings, 
as well as suffering from other human rights breaches." 
 
3.  (U) Also on September 19, several GOJ ministers, NGO 
representatives (including NCHR Commissioner Walid Saadi) and 
other concerned parties met at the Public Security Department 
(PSD) to discuss conditions at correctional facilities and 
the inmate death referred to in the NCHR report.  Justice 
Minister Salah Bashir announced that a ministerial committee 
had already been formed to probe prison conditions and that a 
criminal prosecutor was working with police to file criminal 
charges against those responsible for the inmate's death. 
"Those found involved in this incident will be legally 
prosecuted and the rule of law will apply to everybody 
regardless of their status," Bashir pledged in a statement 
quoted in the press.  He added, however, that he did not 
believe that there was a "systematic practice" of prisoner 
abuse in Jordan and said that a series of surprise prison 
visits during the year had all resulted in "clean reports." 
 
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TOO MANY INMATES, TOO FEW CELLS 
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4.  (U) Bashir acknowledged that most correctional facilities 
in Jordan exceeded their capacity.  He noted that while 
Al-Juweideh was designed to house 1,072 inmates, 1,645 
prisoners were at the facility when he and Interior Minister 
Samir Habashneh conducted an inspection on September 17. 
(NOTE:  Around 30 prisoners staged a hunger strike in July 
2004 in protest against overcrowding and food quality.  Amman 
Attorney General Naji Abdullah eventually convinced them to 
end their strike.)  According to Bashir, the new ministerial 
committee on prisons was seeking to resolve this problem by 
expanding prison capacity, speeding up court proceedings for 
inmates jailed pending trial, and/or deporting foreign 
inmates. 
 
5.  (U) On September 20, Habashneh announced that 200 inmates 
detained for "administrative reasons" had been released from 
Al-Juweideh to ease overcrowding.  A first tranche of 38 
foreign prisoners, some jailed for residing and working in 
Jordan illegally, had been identified for immediate expulsion 
to their countries of origin.  Government Spokeswoman Asma 
Khader stated September 21 that the GOJ was planning to 
rehabilitate a building near Al-Juweideh to house inmates and 
to construct two new prisons in the Muwaqar and Jerash areas. 
 She added that the government would seek to provide 
vocational training to inmates, as well as psychological 
treatment. 
 
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HABASHNEH ON THE DEFENSIVE 
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6.  (U) During a meeting with NGO representatives on 
September 22, Habashneh criticized the NCHR report, claiming 
that it "distorted facts and gave a brutal image of Jordan to 
the world."  He stated that his decision to release 200 
detainees had put the police "on alert" since such 
individuals "engage in fatal street fights and are ready to 
be hired to hurt citizens in return for money."  Earlier in 
the week, Habashneh reminded reporters that prison security 
was a serious issue as some inmates either smuggled weapons 
into prisons or fashioned them inside to engage in violent 
acts. 
 
7.  (U) Responding to Habashneh's statements, NCHR 
Commissioner Saadi told the press that the report accurately 
presented his organization's findings based on personal 
interviews and prison visits, but said that the government 
investigations "will have the final say."  While he "did not 
want to defend administrative detention," Saadi acknowledged 
that some detainees "will commit crimes" when released and 
that a fair balance needed to be achieved between people's 
right to fair and speedy trials and society's right to live 
in peace and security. 
 
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PUBLIC REACTION 
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8.  (U) Outside the GOJ, the NCHR report prompted a flurry of 
public statements and press editorials.  MP Mohammad Aqel 
(West Banker, Balqa- 4th Dist.) told Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
that he and other members of Parliament would press for the 
issue to be dealt with in a firm and transparent manner. 
Head of the Professional Association's "Freedoms Committee," 
attorney Samir Khurfan, called for the review and amendment 
of the prisons law to help stop the harsh treatment of 
prisoners.  The prominent new Arabic daily Al-Ghad carried 
critical commentaries by several jurists on a proposed new 
government ban on corporal punishment, which noted that such 
a ban already exists but lacks mechanisms for enforcement. 
 
 
9.  (C) Contacted by post, human rights activist Jamal Rifai 
stated that the NCHR report was "fair" and obviously based on 
proper field research.  He disagreed that the report would 
give Jordan a bad image, and said Habashneh should have 
lauded, rather than criticized, the NCHR's efforts.  Dr. 
Fawzi Samhouri, another prominent activist, remarked that the 
allegations in the NCHR report were "not surprising," and 
that the GOJ needed to revise prison conduct regulations and 
practice better oversight to improve conditions. 
 
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PRESS CLAMPDOWN 
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10.  (C) The publisher of a major Jordanian daily told PAO 
and IO September 23 that his and all other publications had 
received a letter from the Ministry of Interior forbidding 
further reporting on this issue.  On a possibly related note, 
the September 23 edition of prominent weekly newspaper 
"Shihan" omitted any mention of the prison scandal, despite 
the fact of its having been a front page story in each of the 
dailies for several days running.  Shihan is known as a 
Mukhabarat-linked paper that reflects the views of Jordan's 
East Bank security establishment. 
 
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COMMENT 
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11.  (C) Allegations of harsh prison conditions and prisoner 
abuse are nothing new in Jordan, but the death at al-Juweideh 
and the NCHR report have thrust the issue into the spotlight. 
 The GOJ appears to be taking the matter seriously and has 
notably engaged civil society members; Habashneh's comments 
and the media gag order, however, demonstrate the GOJ's 
extreme sensitivity to the subject.  The NCHR, derided by 
some as a GOJ mouthpiece given its quasi-governmental status, 
has gained new credibility and respect by its report, but may 
likewise come under pressure to not further "embarrass" 
Jordan on the world stage. 
HALE