Jordan.. A decision to amend legislation increasing the penalties for perpetrators of terrorist crimes

Amman, Jordan - The Jordanian Cabinet announced, on Sunday, the start of preparing legislative amendments aimed at tightening penalties related to terrorist crimes, as part of a package of measures that include the duration of penalties, mechanisms for implementing them, and measures imposed on convicts after the end of their sentences. Legal and political circles in support of the official approach reacted, amid expert confirmations of the importance of conducting legislative reviews, reviewing the criminal justice system and addressing legal loopholes “accurately and not just doubling the penalties.” The announcement came after parliamentary and popular demands to increase penalties for terrorist crimes, following the armed attack on the church of the village of “Hamoud” in the Karak Governorate in the south of the country, which resulted in the killing of 9 people, in addition to the killing of Jordanian security man Jawad Al-Salaita in a separate attack in the capital. Amman, planned and implemented by former convicts of terrorism cases.

The most prominent proposals include the initial amendments announced, “raising the minimum penalties in terrorism cases stipulated in the Prevention of Terrorism Law from 5 years to 10 years, and from 10 years to 15 years in some cases, with the death penalty remaining among the penalties prescribed for the most serious crimes.” The proposed amendments also include calculating penalties cumulatively for multiple crimes, so that the prescribed penalty for each crime is implemented separately, instead of being satisfied with the most severe penalty. They also include calculating the year of imprisonment at 12 months instead of 9 months, and depriving any convict in terrorism cases from benefiting from early release after serving three-quarters of the sentence period, in accordance with Article (34) of the Correction and Rehabilitation Centers Law.

In a separate measure related to those currently sentenced, the government announced that it would stop benefiting from the good behavior exception and calculate the year of imprisonment as twelve months instead of nine months, starting from the date of the decision, until the legislative amendments are completed. The package also includes imposing precautionary measures after the completion of the sentence, including electronic monitoring, tracking, and house arrest, according to the periods determined by the court, in addition to tightening penalties for collaborators, instigators, and those involved in terrorist crimes, and increasing penalties related to hate speech and behaviors related to terrorism cases.

The Council of Ministers decided to urgently refer the draft amendments to the House of Representatives within two weeks, as the first stage of a broader review of legislation related to combating terrorism and extremism. While the government has not announced the legal texts to be amended in detail, it is likely that the amendments will include several laws, including the Terrorism Prevention Law, the Penal Code, and the Correction and Rehabilitation Centers Law.

Strengthening the public interest The former Assistant Director of Public Security, retired Major General Anwar Tarawneh, praised the trend towards reviewing Jordanian legislation related to combating terrorism, saying that it is “a quick response to the horrific terrorist operations that the Kingdom witnessed in recent days,” considering that it aims to “strengthen the state’s ability to confront these crimes and reduce their risks, in a way that achieves the public interest.” In statements to the Ofek News website in Arabic, Tarawneh stressed the importance of the proposed proposals related to raising the minimum penalties, and counting the year of imprisonment as twelve months instead of nine, which prevents those convicted in terrorism cases from benefiting from release after serving three-quarters of their sentence, in addition to tightening penalties on collaborators and accomplices.

Tarawneh pointed out that one of the most prominent proposals is to introduce precautionary measures against people proven to be dangerous after the end of their sentences, including electronic monitoring and police oversight, stressing that implementing these measures requires legislation that defines their mechanisms and controls, and said that all these decisions are in the right direction. Regarding the conditions of those convicted in terrorism cases inside correctional and rehabilitation centers, he stated that they are subject to special rehabilitation programs, and that there is also importance “to review programs for dealing with this category and develop them in parallel with legislative amendments.”

Tarawneh pointed out that some people with extremist and extremist ideology refuse to communicate with others, which makes responding to guidance and rehabilitation programs a matter that requires an integrated system. The severity of the punishment is not a substitute for the accuracy of the text. For his part, the lawyer and former head of the State Security Court, Raed Azmqana, said, “The seriousness of terrorist crimes, and the recent attacks that the Kingdom has witnessed targeting the lives of citizens, security personnel, and places of worship, require reviewing legislation and strengthening the ability to confront and prevent terrorism. He pointed out that tightening penalties for serious terrorist crimes, limiting the chances of early release for their perpetrators, and prosecuting those who finance, plan, or incite them are all worthy issues.” Serious legislative study.”

"Azmaqna", speaking to the Arabic website Ofuq News, believes that the Prevention of Terrorism Law already includes severe penalties that reach the death penalty, and that some forms of participation, incitement, and interference are punishable by the punishment of the original perpetrator, which requires "meticulously identifying the gaps to be addressed, instead of simply doubling the penalties without stating the legislative need for that." Regarding calculating the year of imprisonment as twelve months instead of nine, he explained that “the issue relates to early release after serving three-quarters of the sentence period in accordance with the text of Article 34 of the Correction and Rehabilitation Centers Law,” stressing “the necessity of regulating it with a clear legal text, taking into account the non-retroactivity of the most severe penal provisions and not prejudice to the legal centers that have been established according to final provisions, except in accordance with a sound legal and constitutional basis.”

Regarding the precautionary measures after the end of the sentence, Azmqana affirmed his support in principle for the possibility of imposing them on those proven to be of continued danger, but he “stressed that they should not be automatic or collective, but rather that they should be based on an individual assessment of the danger, and that they should be issued by a reasoned judicial decision, and that they should be of a limited duration and subject to review and appeal.” Regarding doubling the penalties for partners, instigators, and accomplices, Azmqana pointed out the importance of “distinguishing between those who lead, organize, finance, and recruit, and those who provide limited assistance, taking into account each person’s role, intent, and extent of contribution to the crime.” Azmqana, who chaired the State Security Court in 2015, also supported confronting hate speech and incitement to violence firmly, but stressed the need for the texts to be specific, and not to confuse “criminal incitement to violence with freedom of opinion and expression, so that criminalization does not expand in a way that affects the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Regarding combining penalties for multiple crimes, he pointed out that the Penal Code currently gives the court the power to implement the most severe punishment or to combine penalties according to certain conditions and limits, considering that it is possible to consider making the combination a principle for independent and multiple terrorist crimes, provided that the multiplicity of crimes is not confused with the multiple legal descriptions of a single act, and that room is left “for the court to apply the principle of proportionality.” Azmaqna supports “more effective and firm legislation in confronting terrorism,” while he believes that “strickenness alone is not enough,” and that what is required is “an integrated system that combines deterrent punishment, proactive prevention, monitoring the real danger, rehabilitation, and precise application of the law.”

He added: "The strength of the state is not measured only by its ability to punish the perpetrators of crimes, but also by its ability to prevent their occurrence, protect society, and ensure that all its procedures remain within the framework of the law and the rule of the Constitution," stressing that terrorism must be confronted with the utmost firmness, but true firmness is inseparable from justice and the rule of law. In this context, he added: “I am in favor of toughening the punishment for terrorism, but I am against the severity of the punishment becoming a substitute for the accuracy of the legislative text,” adding: “It is not enough to ask how many years a terrorist will spend in prison. Rather, we must ask how to prevent his return to crime and how to prevent the next crime in the first place.”

He stressed that "not everyone who participates in a terrorist file is equal in his role and responsibility. Justice requires distinguishing between those who planned, led, and financed and those whose contribution was different," stressing that "precautionary measures after the end of the sentence must be to confront a proven danger, not to impose an additional, indefinite punishment on a person who has completed his sentence." He said: "We do not only want a law that is more severe in punishment, but we also want a law that is more capable of preventing terrorism, more accurate in determining responsibility, and more fair in application."

The provisions of Article 3 of the effective Prevention of Terrorism Law include 9 provisions related to terrorist crimes, including: carrying out, by any direct or indirect means, funds, collecting, or arranging them with the intention of using them to commit a terrorist act or finance terrorists, whether or not the act occurs inside or outside the Kingdom and is related to its citizens or interests. Among the criminal acts are also carrying out actions that would expose the Kingdom to the danger of hostile acts, disturb its relations with a foreign country, or expose Jordanians to the danger of acts of revenge against them or their money, as well as joining or attempting to join any armed groups or terrorist organizations, or recruiting or attempting to recruit people to join them or training them for this purpose, whether inside or outside the Kingdom.