Jordanians imprisoned in Israel send solidarity letter to activists detained in Jordan

AMMAN — The popular campaign to defend imprisoned members of the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) on Saturday organised a conference to deliver a letter of solidarity from Jordanian prisoners in Israel to activists and engineers jailed in Jordan.

Mazen Malasah, the campaign’s spokesperson, said the activists and engineers had been imprisoned in Jordan for more than three months before being charged last Thursday.

“There are 12 detainees in Jordanian prisons, while four others are fugitives — two of whom are in Saudi Arabia and two in Israeli prisons,” Malasah noted.

The detainees’ defence lawyer, Hikmat Rawashdeh, said that these activists and engineers face four charges.

“The four charges are manufacturing explosives for illegal use; committing acts that disturb public order and threaten the security of society; recruiting young people to join armed groups [Hamas]; and joining armed groups [Hamas],” Rawashdeh explained.

The lawyer noted that Article 2 in the Arab Anti-Terrorism Agreement exempts fighting Israeli occupation forces from terrorism charges.

Shaheen Merei — whose brother Muneer is a prisoner in Israel and has been handed five death sentences —read the letter that 25 prisoners in Israel sent to the detainees in Jordan, noting that it took three days to reach him.

In the letter, they expressed shock that two current prisoners in Israel — Manaf Jbarah and Abdullah Zitawi — are also wanted in Jordan.

“We blame the Jordanian government for not working to secure our release, and for not arranging family visits for us, despite many promises over the years,” the prisoners said in their letter, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times.

Rawashdeh said the 12 activists and engineers were transferred from the Juweideh Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre to Zarqa prison on Saturday.

JEA President Abdullah Obeidat expressed the association’s support for the detainees.

At the end of the conference, Malasah noted that families of Jordanian prisoners in Israel will organise a sit-in near the Prime Ministry at 3:30pm on Wednesday.