HRW accuses Jordan of crushing demos

"Jordan's response to demonstrations looks more and more repressive," Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at HRW, said on Tuesday. "Its security forces violently break up peaceful protests and then continue to beat and insult detainees in custody," Wilcke added. On Saturday, anti-riot forces attacked protesters that had gathered outside the prime minister's residence in Amman to demand the release of six political activists detained in mid-March during an anti-government demonstration in the southern city of Tafileh. Police officials said that a number of protesters were arrested after they "broke the law, disturbed public order, blocked traffic and insulted security officials.” On Sunday, the military-dominated State Security Court charged 13 protesters with "inciting the public against the country's political regime, rioting and insulting King Abdullah II.” “Military prosecutors charged 13 of them with crimes related to their exercise of freedom of speech to criticize the authorities, but no inquiry into ill-treatment has been announced,” HRW said. HRW said it interviewed six witnesses to the March 31 arrests, noting "police beat close to 30 demonstrators at a police station this week, two of whom fainted from the ill-treatment.” "It is high time Jordan reformed its penal code and abolished all articles criminalising peaceful speech and assembly," Wilcke said. London-based Amnesty International has also urged Jordan to release the activists. "A law which allows the Jordanian authorities to detain activists on the basis of 'insulting the king' must be repealed," it said. "Jordan continues to use a draconian law which effectively criminalizes political dissent as a way to silence political opponents and government critics," said Ann Harrison of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Program. Since January 2011, Jordanians have been holding street protests demanding political reforms, including the election of the prime minister by popular vote and an end to corruption. Since the beginning of the rallies, the Jordanian king has sacked two successive prime ministers in a bid to avoid more demonstrations. The king has also amended 42 articles of the 60-year-old constitution, giving the parliament a stronger role in decision-making.