Jordan: Arbitrary detention of human rights defender Amer Jubran since May 2014

Amer Jamil Jubran is a human rights defender focusing mostly on Palestine. He is arbitrarily detained since May 2014, by the Jordanian authorities. It is not the first time that his political activism leads him to be questioned by the Intelligence services.

During his stay in the United States, where he had created a Palestinian support committee, the "New England Committee to Defend Palestine", the American authorities had already arrested him and questioned his political activities. Threatened with legal proceedings, he voluntarily left the country and moved back to Jordan, where he continued his advocacy for the Palestinian cause. For this reason, he was under the surveillance of the Jordan's General Intelligence Department (Dairat al Mukhabarat al Ammah), and was eventually arrested on 5 May 2014.

Secretly detained for several days, he was later brought back by agents of the General Intelligence to his house, which was heavily searched. Then, they transferred him back to the General Intelligence headquarters where he remained held incommunicado for about a month and a half.

Concerned over his fate, particularly that he be subjected to torture - the General Intelligence of Jordan being notorious for such practices - his loved ones undertook several steps for his release. They were finally allowed to visit him for a few minutes in late June. Nevertheless, Amer Jubran is still detained without any legal proceedings and has not been referred to a judge, or granted access to a lawyer since he was arrested, in violation of his most fundamental rights.

Alkarama thus sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on arbitrary detention asking for the immediate release of Amer Jubran by the Jordanian authorities. In any case, his unlawful detention by the General Intelligence services has to cease and the authorities should take urgent steps, in line with their international obligations, to end the practice of arbitrary detention