Jordan Human Rights

Human Rights Concerns

Amnesty International continues to be concerned about torture and ill-treatment in detention in Jordan, as well as the link between torture, unfair trials, and the death penalty. Amnesty International has particular concerns about the application of the death penalty in Jordan because there is a pattern of death sentences, and sometimes executions, occurring as a result of unfair trials where confessions extracted under torture are used as evidence against the defendants. There has also been a pattern of suppression of freedom of expression and association, especially in the wake of laws restricting freedom of the press and expression that were promulgated in the fall of 2001.

Several clerics and journalists and members of professional associations have been arrested, detained, and charged for peaceful expression of their opinions. The practice of killing women and girls by husbands or family members because they have allegedly engaged in behavior that goes against social norms (so-called "honor killings") continues to be a problem in Jordan; measures calling for stricter punishment for those committing honor killings have failed to be enacted.