JORDAN: Human rights activists denounce deportation deal with UK

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

AMMAN, 17 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Jordanian human rights activists echoed concerns of international human rights groups that a memorandum of understanding with Britain had few legal safeguards for a fair trial of future deportees from the UK.

Human rights activists have voiced concern about the deportation deal which London says protects deportees from ill treatment and under its terms Jordan would have to guarantee a deportee would not be tortured or otherwise mistreated at home and would not face the death penalty.

"The assurances in this memorandum are not serious and we know that all Arab countries, including Jordan don't give assurances against beatings and torture or sufficient safeguards for clients to defend themselves," Hani Dahla, head of the Jordanian branch of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights said in the capital, Amman.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday the UK could not deport security suspects to Jordan without violating the international prohibition against sending persons to countries where they face a serious risk of torture,

"There is still torture in Jordan, especially with regard to security suspects. All the good reasons that prevented the UK from deporting people to Jordan before August 10 remain unchanged by this agreement," Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division said.

Amnesty International echoed the same concerns of HRW, pointing out that the memorandum of understanding, signed by Jordan and the UK on 10 August and promising that transferred persons would not be mistreated, does nothing to reduce that risk or to change the obligation not to expose people to torture.

"Memorandums of understanding are not a new idea. But such promises from countries like Jordan, which are known to use torture are not worth the paper they are written on," Amnesty International said in a statement.

Britain recently detained several foreign residents who may now face deportation, among them Umar Mahmud Uthman Abu Umar, who is better known as Abu Qatada, a Jordanian national and among the 10 people detained by British police last week as threats to national security.

Abu Qatada was convicted in absentia with 12 other defendants for the alleged financing of the Islamist fundamentalist Islah and Tahadi network that security agents said at the time had ties to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Criminals convicted in absentia have the right to a full retrial once they come into Jordanian custody.

Jordan stands to gain custody of criminal suspects while Britain rids itself of unwelcome persons, and neither country has any incentive to monitor treatment or investigate allegations of abuse, Human Rights Watch said.

Under the memorandum, only verbal notice is required to set proceedings in motion. The Jordanian interior minister has so far publicly denied receiving a British request to invoke the agreement, but indicated that Jordan would seek Abu Qatada’s extradition to Jordan

Under Jordanian law, once Abu Qatada is deported to Jordan he would face a retrial in a state security court that handles cases of militants, but would be interrogated before new charges are levelled.

Jordanian human rights groups, lawyers and politicians have criticised the deal with Britain saying a Jordanian state security court has few legal safeguards unlike a civil court.

"There are a lot of measures in the state security court that are questionable and serious legal flaws that relate to pre-trial interrogations, arrest and defendant's ability to have legal representation," Saleh Armouti, head of the Jordanian bar association said.

Prominent deputies also argue the deal violates the country's constitution that stipulates that any deal that touches on human rights of citizens should first be presented to parliament for debate before its approval.

"I am going to submit a petition by deputies to raise my voice that the government has done something wrong. The British government is interfering in the Jordanian legal system," Khalil Atiyah, an independent deputy in the country's 110-member parliament said.

Earlier, the media reported UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke saying that the circumstances of the country’s national security had changed and that it was vital to act against those who threaten it.

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