Officers detained as teenager dies in police custody in Jiza

AMMAN — All police officers who were in charge of questioning a young man who died while in police custody on Tuesday in the Jiza town, south of Amman, have been detained pending further investigation into the case, police said.

Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Ahmad Sarhan Faqih, who ordered the detentions on Thursday, also set up a committee to probe the suspicious death of Raed Amar, 18, who was being held at Jiza police station, 30 kilometres south of Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

“The police chief ordered the committee to expand investigations into the incident, and to take the necessary procedures depending on the outcome of the probe,” according to Petra.

A team of four government pathologists detected several bruises on different parts of the victim’s body during an autopsy on Amar’s body, the agency said, quoting official sources. 

Blood and tissue samples were sent to the criminal lab by the government physicians to assist them in writing their concluding report, Petra added.  

Meanwhile, the victim’s uncle Mohammad Amar said his nephew was “held in police custody for six days on charges of theft”.

“We tried to visit him while he was detained, but they did not allow us, and when they brought him to reenact a crime he did not commit, we noticed traces of bruises on his body. It looked to us like he was tortured,” the relative told The Jordan Times.

Mohammad said that “his family is refusing to receive his body until police announce the people responsible for his death”.

Lawyer Abdul Kareem Shraideh from the Arab Organisation for Human Rights said he is following up with the family on the matter and will represent them pro bono.

“This is surely a sad day for the family of Raed and we will represent them in court,” Shraideh told The Jordan Times.

The activist added that his NGO “agreed with the family not to bury the body until we get conclusive investigation results and we know what kind of charges will be brought against the people who are found to have been involved”. 

Shraideh also claimed that four other people had also been detained by police in connection with the alleged theft, including two of Mohammad Amar’s relatives, alleging that they “were also subjected to torture”.

“We tried to see two of his relatives, who are also in police custody and believed to have been tortured, but the police refused,” Shraideh charged.

The victim’s uncle echoed Shraideh’s allegation, saying that his brother and nephew “were also arrested by police and are believed to have been abused during interrogation”.

The Jordan Times tried repeatedly to contact Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi throughout Thursday to get a comment regarding Shreideh and Mohammad Amar’s allegations, but Sartawi could not be reached.

The government human rights coordinator, Basil Tarawneh, said he was content with the police chief’s measures, saying that “it is a reassurance to the victim’s family that this incident will not be tolerated”.

“It sends a clear message that anyone who is implicated will be punished. This is an important procedure taken in Jordan that we do not see much in other countries,” Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.

He stressed that Jordan abides by the rule of law and that “no one is really above the law, because we are a state that respects human rights and ensures just legal procedures”.

“We are following up closely on this case and will inform the public about its outcome once we receive the results from the committee that was formed,” Tarawneh stressed. 

 The victim is survived by his parents and seven siblings, including four brothers and three sisters, according to one of his relatives.