Lebanese-Jordanian citizen arrested and forcibly disappeared at Amman international airport

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UPDATE: Abdul Wahab Al Jaghbir was released without charge on September 10, 2018.

(Geneva, June 20, 2018) – On June 19, 2018, Alkarama requested the urgent intervention of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) in the case of Abdul Wahab Al Jaghbir, a 33-year-old Lebanese-Jordanian citizen who has been missing since his arrest at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on May 31, 2018.

Al Jaghbir – who owns a chain of restaurants in Lebanon and is also an officially recognised sheikh and member of the Association of Muslim Scholars – travelled to Jordan on May 31 with his father, Mohammed. Despite holding Jordanian citizenship, it was Abdul Wahab’s first visit to the country.

When the two men arrived at Queen Alia International Airport, the security services instructed them to go to the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) department of the airport. There, GID officers interrogated Mohammed about whether his son had ties with Al Nusra Front or any terrorist organisation in Lebanon. After denying his son’s involvement in any terrorist group, Mohammed was released the following day as a result of his deteriorating health.

To date, Abdul Wahab continues to be detained in an unknown location without any access to his lawyer or family. Mohammad – who has not heard from his son since the time of the arrest – does not know whether he is still detained inside the airport or if he has been transferred to another location.

Following his release, Mohammed was able to enter Jordan, where he appointed a lawyer. However, the lawyer did not receive any further information on Abdul Wahab’s whereabouts, and has been unable to access him to date.  Abdul Wahab’s family enquired about his whereabouts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lebanon, but to no avail.

On June 19, Alkarama requested the WGEID’s urgent intervention with the Jordanian authorities to ensure Al Jaghbir’s immediate release or, at the very least, that he is put under the protection of the law and his family informed of his fate and whereabouts.

For more information or an interview, please contact media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1006).