Jordan charges 13 activists with insulting King Abdullah II

Jordanian officials said the State Security Court prosecutors accused the 13 activists of “inciting the public against the country’s political regime, rioting and insulting the king,” AFP reported.

The accused activists will be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

In March, six Jordanian activists were imprisoned for insulting the king.

About 200 members of various Jordanian youth movements held a demonstration near the office of the prime minister in the capital, Amman, on Saturday to demand the release of the six activists. Demonstrators chanted slogans against the government.

The Public Security Department said in a statement issued on Saturday police arrested some protesters who “broke the law, disturbed public order, blocked traffic and insulted security officials.” The security department claimed the demonstration “was not peaceful.”

Jordan’s State Security Court tries military personnel and civilians and it has jurisdiction over the trail of offences against the kingdom’s security.

The Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan condemned the arrests of the Saturday demonstrators.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Jamil Abu Baker said, “Dispersing the protest and arresting the activists escalate tension in the country.”

“Their chants came as a result of frustration that no real reforms have been introduced and no genuine anti-corruption steps have been taken.”

Abu Baker added that reform is the “only solution to the current tension and escalation in Jordan.”