On 27 August 2015, Alkarama brought a second time before the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) the case of Eyad Qunaibi, professor and political critic charged with "incitement against the political regime" for having published an article on Facebook in which he criticised Jordan's ties with Israel, the Jordanian King as well as the "westernisation" of society.
On 8 August 2015, the Prosecutor of the State Security Court charged Qunaibi with "incitement against the political regime" under article 149(1) of the Jordanian Penal Code, a provision often used by Jordanian authorities to silence critical voices or political opponents. Among the facts presented as evidence to substantiate the indictment were specific sections of his Facebook article, the high number of his followers, his criticism against the Jordanian authorities' participation to the Paris march following the attacks to Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 and at the time Israeli President Shimon Peres' visit to Jordan in 2013 on the occasion of the World Economic Forum.
As a reminder, on 15 June 2015, five days after the publication on Facebook of his article "Jordan heading for the abyss," Qunaibi was summoned by the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) at its Amman-based headquarters and was immediately arrested and then transferred to the Muwaqqar II high security prison, where he is still detained in prolonged solitary confinement, a condition recognised as amounting to torture. On 18 June, he was informally accused by the State Security Court 's Prosecutor with "incitement against the political regime," a charge provided by article 149 of the Penal Code. On 3 August 2015, Alkarama wrote an urgent appeal to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), asking for his immediate release.
"Qunaibi's charges are solely based on his exercise of his freedom of opinion and freedom of expression, both rights recognised by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Jordan is a party since 1975," says Inès Osman, Legal Officer for the Mashreq at Alkarama, adding that "the Jordanian authorities shall put an end to the arbitrary use of arrest and detention to silence critical voices within the Jordanian society." In its second communication, Alkarama brought to the attention of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) Qunaibi's recent indictment and once more called upon it to urge his immediate release.
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