Forty-two MPs on Sunday urged the Jordanian government to “end once and for all” its case against political activists campaigning against normalization with Israel, reported the Jordan Times newspaper.
In a petition submitted to House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali, the deputies said they believed there was “no point in sending to court” professional association activists “as long as Israel maintained its aggression against the Palestinian people.”
“In light of what is taking place in Palestine, of the injustice, terrorism and suppression at the hands the Zionist enemy... which is closing all paths to the resumption of [peace talks]...we call upon the government to close the file of the anti-normalization committee,” read the one-page statement, cited by the paper.
Twenty-two activists are accused of belonging to an illegal group and publishing writings and conducting acts deemed harmful to Jordanian properties and citizens.
Two of the accused, the committee's head, Ali Abul Sukkar, and Ali Hattar, face the more serious charge of possessing detonators for illegal purposes.
Almost all of the suspects belong to the Anti-Normalization Committee, an ad hoc body that emanates from the 13 professional associations and is active in combating all sorts of links and dealings with Israel.
Although the authorities did not link the arrests to the committee's anti-normalization activities, the detentions and subsequent interrogations came days after the 23-member panel made public a blacklist of “normalizers” with the Jewish state, in defiance of government warnings, said the paper.
The committee's move incurred government wrath and Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb accused the unions of damaging the country's economy and jeopardizing the investment climate.
Security sources said prosecutor for the state security court is due to finalize the interrogation process within the “next three to four days.”
“[Prosecutor] Lt. Colonel Obeidat kept this file open for a few days to hear more witnesses” in this high profile case, a source said.
So far, the prosecutor heard the testimonies of 30 state witnesses as well as those of the 22 suspects, eight of them had been briefly detained over the past three months, the source told the Jordan Times.
He expected the trial to open within the next three weeks – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
