A Jordanian student sentenced to two years in prison over IM

According to the Next Web – Middle East, citing the Ammannet website, a Jordanian computer engineering student, by the name of Imad Al-Ash, has been arrested since February, 2010, and sentenced on July 13th, 2010, by state security court to two years in prison over charges of lèse majesté for sending an IM (Instant Message) to his friend:

The IM by Al-Ash allegedly contained words that “insulted the supreme entities” (translated from Arabic) known to others as His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan. Amongst the charges were also allegations of participation in public online forums expressing ‘controversial religious opinions’, none of which the court had substantial proof of, as expressed by his attorney.

According to a statement provided by his father to Ammannet, the college student was submitted to torture during the five months investigation carried out by the Security Services and was forced to confess crimes which he never committed.

5 comments

  • […] Jordanian student sentence to two years in prison for IM. Imad Al-Ash got two years in prison for the last refuge of the scoundrel, lèse majesté. (If you want a quick rule of thumb for tinhorn dictatorships, check to see if lèse majesté is on the books.) During the five months leading up to his sentencing, the Jordanian secret service tortured the kid. He had allegedly sent an IM criticizing the King of Jordan. Maybe the Queen should consider extending her vaunted public “patronage” of education to encompass the less stylish area of NOT ALLOWING HER HUSBAND TO TORTURE PEOPLE. But what do I know? I went to a state school. […]

  • […] netizens had a rude awakening when news surfaced about the sentencing of Imad Al-Ash to two years in prison – for insulting the Jordanian […]

  • […] zgotowano brutalną pobudkę, kiedy na jaw wyszły informacje [ang.] o skazaniu Imada Al-Asha na dwa lata więzienia za obrazę króla Jordanu w wiadomości, […]

  • […] нетизени имаа грубо будење кога се раширија вестите [англиски] за осудувањето на Имад Ал – Аш на казна […]

  • […] da yanfry il 6 settembre 2010 È un risveglio amaro quello dei netizen giordani al trapelare di notizie [en] sulla condanna di Imad Al-Ash [en] a due anni di reclusione per aver insultato il Re di […]

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