Jordan’s Ambassador to the US disclosed on Monday that “at least 10 Jordanians have been detained in the US” during the security investigations which are being carried out across the US in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Marwan Muasher, Jordan’s Ambassador to the US, told the Jordan Times that the “US authorities rounded up at least 10 Jordanians, and we are trying to look into their cases and win their release.”
The 10 are among nearly 1,000 Arab Americans or illegal immigrants from Arab countries who have been detained over the past two months, and most of them are students in their twenties.
Muasher did not rule out the possibility of more detentions in the absence “of solid” information about their whereabouts and cases, said the Amman-based paper.
“We have been inquiring by telephone, through memos and letters to all concerned parties, but they [US authorities] have been secretive about details of the arrests,” he noted. “They are not forthcoming.”
The US authorities have invoked a “Secret Evidence Act” in their drive to maintain a blackout on their investigations in connection with the terrorist attacks, said Muasher, noting that new laws, which were issued lately after the attack, gave the authorities further authority to withhold information – Albawaba.com
