Bar association boycotts State Security Court

AMMAN — The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) has issued an official circular for all its members, asking them to boycott the State Security Court (SSC) and its prosecution office in protest against the trial of activists before the military-administered tribunal.  

In a statement on Thursday, the JBA said it was obliged to take such decision after failing to ensure the release of activists and lawyers now tried before the SSC for political activism.

“The government is growing more and more intolerant to criticism,” JBA President Mazen Irsheidat to The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Irsheidat said that the syndicate had requested the release of activists who had been arrested for participating in rallies against the government’s economic policies.

“The government has violated the rules of detention by using it as a punishment,” Irsheidat said, charging that authorities were “exploiting the jurisdiction of the SSC to crackdown on citizens”.

“SSC is for serious charges related to the country’s security. Regardless of what slogans protesters raise during rallies, they remain below the level that would undermine the state security.”

Irsheidat said that the decision to boycott the SSC is binding for all the association’s members, adding that lawyers who go against the decision would face disciplinary action.