After being disappeared for two months and subjected to torture and ill-treatment over the course of his three-month detention, Ramsi Suleiman, a 39-year-old pharmacist, was released without charge on August 17, 2017 from the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) premises in Amman.
Following his arrest by the GID on May 23, 2017, Suleiman was disappeared for two months. His relatives made numerous attempts to obtain information on his fate and whereabouts, but to no avail. The GID denied his arrest and refused to provide them with any information, including the reasons behind his arrest.
Despite this lack of information, his relatives believed he was arrested because he was a suspected member of Hizb Ut Tahrir (HT). This allegation seems to be corroborated by the fact that several other alleged HT members or supporters were arrested over the same period.
Hizb Ut Tahrir is an international, pan-Islamic, non-violent political movement legally present in numerous counties in the Arab world as well as in Central and Southeast Asia and Europe. However, the organisation remains banned in Jordan.
It was only on July 16, 2017, two months after Suleiman’s abduction, that his lawyer was able to meet with him briefly in the office of the Military Prosecutor at the GID premises. Suleiman reported having been subjected to torture and ill-treatment over the course of his detention for the purpose of extracting a confession.
Concerned over his safety, Alkarama sent Suleiman’s case to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (WGEID) on July 3, 2017, calling for the experts’ urgent intervention with the Jordanian authorities to release Suleiman, or at the very least to inform his family of his fate and whereabouts.
“While we welcome Suleiman’s reappearance, we remain concerned over this growing trend of enforced disappearances targeting the kingdom’s real or imaginary political opponents,” said Inès Osman, Regional Legal Officer at Alkarama.
“The Jordanian government should examine the GID’s working methods, investigate allegations of torture committed while individuals are being held incommunicado, and prosecute any official suspected of wrongdoing.”
For more information or an interview, please contact media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).