Jordan: Visits & Communications
Correspondence from 2005
The record of correspondence for 2005 is excerpted from the official United Nations report, E/CN.4/2005/7/Add.1.
Country: Jordan
Type, date and summary of communication: Urgent Appeal sent with the Special Rapporteur on torture, 11 December 2003. Ra’ed Muhammad Hijazi was sentenced to death by the State Security Court (SSC) in January 2003 on charges including plotting to carry out terrorist activity, illegal possession of explosive material and an unlicensed automatic weapon.. In June 2003, the Court of Cassation overturned the death sentence based on its assertion that the SSC had not followed correct procedures in not addressing the Court of Cassation’s decision when issuing its verdict. The Court of Cassation is also alleged to have asked the SSC to look at whether his case should not have benefited from a Royal Amnesty in 1999. According to information recently received, on 8 December 2003, the SSC sentenced for the third time Ra’ed Muhammad Hijazi to death. It is expected that his lawyers will appeal again to the Court of Cassation against this decision. Concern has been expressed that he has been condemned on the basis of confessions allegedly extracted under torture and after an unfair trial. Information received indicates that the SSC almost invariably uses military judges as well as a military prosecutor and does not provide the same guarantees of independence and impartiality provided by the ordinary courts. In this connection, reference is made to the Human Rights Committee recommendation to consider the abolition of the SSC (see CCPR/C/79/Add.35).
Government reply: Response dated 2 March 2004: The Government informs that in relation with the case of Raid Mohamed Hizaji, it complies with the provisions of the international covenant on civil and political rights and with international policy and standards relating to the imposition of the death penalty. Raid Hijazi’s case is still being heard by a court of law, which will decide, in accordance with the laws in force, whether he has committed a crime and what penalty should be imposed. These laws do not contravene the terms of the international covenant on Civil and Political rights or the relevant international policy and standards.
Observation of the Special Rapporteur: The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government for its reply and would appreciate further information addressing the specific issues raised in the communication.
Correspondence from 1983-2002
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has been corresponding with Governments regarding alleged violations since the mandate was established over two decades ago. While the Project on Extrajudicial Executions is making efforts to provide easily browsed versions of as many years as possible, much of the earlier correspondence is available only in the PDF versions of reports from 1983 to the present.