A Palestinian evacuated to Jordan after being wounded in clashes with Israeli forces said Thursday he had been placed under police detention in hospital in connection with a 1996 attempted murder conviction.
Construction worker Omar Mujahid, 27, told AFP that he was shot in both legs over the weekend by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank town of Tulkarem and evacuated to Jordan for treatment.
"I had no other choice (than to go to Jordan)," Mujahid said, "because the doctors told me they did not have the means to treat me in the (Palestinian) territories."
Mujahid said that after he was admitted to the private al-Urdun hospital in Amman, two police guards were posted outside his door and he was told this was in connection with a verdict of attempted murder handed down on him in absentia in 1996.
He said that he had been freed on bail before his case came to court and that he had "gone to Tulkarem, where I have participated in the Intifada against Israeli occupation in recent days."
Mujahid said he hoped that Jordanian King Abdullah II would grant him a royal reprieve in light of his participation in the Intifada.
A judicial official said that Mujahid would have the right to appeal his conviction, especially as it had been in absentia -- AMMAN (AFP)
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