Jordan’s State Security Court on Wednesday issued verdicts in a series of high-profile cases that, authorities said, threatened national security and sought to incite unrest, offences that were first revealed in mid-April, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Jordan thwarted in April a plot against the kingdom's security by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were arrested on suspicion of manufacturing rockets and possessing explosives. The members had worked in four cells since 2021, with some receiving training in Lebanon or travelling abroad to obtain help in missile production.
In the missile manufacturing case, the court handed down the harshest penalties, sentencing Abdullah Hisham and Moath Ghanem to 15 years of hard labour and ordering them to pay court fees. A third defendant, Mohsin Ghanem, received seven and a half years of hard labour and was also ordered to pay fees.
The court found Hisham and Moath Ghanem guilty of jointly manufacturing weapons for unlawful use. Mohsin Ghanem was convicted of assisting in the same offence under the same provisions. All three were additionally found guilty of acts that “threaten public order and endanger public safety”, according to a court statement carried by the state news agency.
Two other defendants were convicted in a related recruitment case, while four were sentenced in a training case, both under the Anti-Terrorism Law.
In a separate drones case, however, the court acquitted four defendants of all charges brought by the State Security prosecutor. The court said it found no evidence of the “specific intent” required by law to establish a criminal act and ordered their release, the statement said.
The court’s decisions are subject to appeal before the Court of Cassation, it added.
Shortly after the arrests in April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood and confiscated its assets.
The Brotherhood had for years been officially considered dissolved in the kingdom. However, the measures taken earlier this year severely limited the room for manoeuvre it has had amid pressure on the political system emanating from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The ban included publishing anything by the group and the closure and confiscation of all its offices and property.
Jordan then launched legal action against organisations “operating under the influence” of the Muslim Brotherhood as part of the escalating crackdown.
