FREE MAHDI!

16th of November 2012, 7 pm, Amman - Jabal el Hussain - Firas circle.

Mahdi Al-Saafin was with a big number of protesters in a demonstration against the government, chanting against the regime and the government when the police freed dogs against the protesters attacking simultaneously with tear gas and electric sticks.
That was the moment in which Mahdi and another protester were caught and arrested.

Mahdi is a very well known figure among the policemen, being one of the youngest and more active political opponents in Jordan, one of the leaders of the Democratic Youth Federation, and a poet.

The police started beating him from the very beginning at the police station in Al-Abdaly - central Amman police station - they started torturing him for three days not communicating the family, or his lawyer, that he was arrested.  
On the third day they moved him to Al-Hashimia Jail in Zarqa city, a prison outside Amman.
After 5 days they told his mother that he was there and allowed her and a friend to visit him.
He told them about how he was tortured during the first three days. For this reason, a police officer banned anyone to visit Mahdi except his mother.
Up to now the police is denying to Mahdi the right of being taken to the Hospital and receive a proper medical treatment.
Almost 300 other people are in the same situation. All those people were arrested during the new wave of protests in Jordan which began for the cuts of fuel subsidies, and that was more directly and openly criticising the country’s government.

The Committee for Public Freedoms and Human Rights which defends the detainees is collecting information about the detainees and their families.
The committee called for a fair, legal and open trial for all the detainees, stressing that try citizens at the State Security Court is contrary to the provisions of Article 101 of the Jordanian Constitution.
The lawyer Lina Khayat explained that since 11/20/2012 more than 50 citizens were charged for undermining the regime and since the date of 11.22.2012 four citizens refused to testify before the state security court demanding to be judged by a civil court.

The main charges for Mahdi are:
1- illegal assembly and riot.
2- working to undermine the regime violating of Article 149 \ 1 of the Penal Code.