The political prisoner and former head of the Jordanian municipality of Ma’an, Majed Al-Sharari, started an open-ended hunger strike in Marka prison, in protest against his continued release.
The move came nearly two months after his arrest over his participation in the al-Karama peaceful sit-in.
Majed Al-Sharari’s son, Engineer Moamen Al-Sharari, said that his son started on February 15, 2023, an open hunger strike in detention in protest against his continued detention since December 18, 2022.
Lawyer Louay Obeidat also affirmed that Al-Sharari informed him that he would declare an open-ended hunger strike if he was not released.
The State Security Court has not yet decided on his release request on a bail, the lawyer added.
The Military State Security Court had earlier charged Al-Sharari of participating in unauthorised sit-ins, “undermines the political regime or incites opposition to it” under Article (149) of the Penal Code and being involved in various acts associated with ‘terrorist activities’ that harm national resources.”
Jordan has been downgraded from ‘obstructed’ to ‘repressed’ in a 2021 report by the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration that rates and tracks fundamental freedoms in 197 countries and territories.
According to the report, the suspension of the last remaining Teachers’ Association, internet shutdowns, and restrictions enforced on journalists, civil society and activists, have led to the downgrade.
For many years, Jordan was classified by Freedom House as a partly-free country. But as of 2021, Jordan’s classification fell back, and it was classified as not free.
