(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)
The footage from Wednesday night on social media, showing security personnel brutally assaulting citizens at a café in Irbid, is terrifying, and no less worrying. Shortly after the video went viral, the Public Security Directorate (PSD) placed the perpetrators under arrest, and launched an investigation, a source told the media. He also confirmed that they were personnel with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The preliminary explanation was short from convincing. It was obvious that the police wanted to cover the whole story up and misguide the public.
According to the initial police statement, violence was reported at the location, and the police responded.
However, the circulating footage shows clearly that the victims did not resist, nor was there violence on scene. It actually shows that they were taken by surprise. When and how did the police come in? Where they really police!
It turns out that one of the victims is a university professor, from Ramtha, 63 years old.
Of course, the way the police handled him erupted protests in Ramtha, not to mention the viral spread of the humiliating video and the smearing that came with it!
Above all else, the single most terrifying thing about this is that it is police and security officers doing it! The very same personnel supposedly in charge of upholding the law and protecting citizens!
More so, this happens today, as we push towards the rule of law and the equal reinforcement of it.
Suddenly, an incident like this takes place, and there is a video of the cops beating a 63-year old circulating the virtual world!
Needless to say, this doesn't help the state's reputation, nor the police's, and this isn't the first time infringements against the rights of our citizens are documented.
We can't just turn a blind eye to it and go on with our lives as if this doesn't exist!
The formulation of an internal investigation committee will not ease the public's mind, nor is it acceptable to the public opinion. Especially since internal investigation committees have built themselves a nasty reputation among Jordanians.
What the public needs is civilian oversight by other bodies of the state, like the department of justice for instance, to oversee the investigation!
It is necessary for police officials to understand that such videos only smear the reputation of the Public Security Directorate (PSD), and the personnel shown attacking the citizens in the video are the biggest losers in this, along with their entire departments.
They make the entirety of the police and security agencies look bad.
Even though most of the officers we deal with are highly civilised, their grace will not save their reputation for as long as such incidents keep happening!
Notably, such violations are not exclusive to Jordan. Many incidents of the sort have been captured and released over the internet and other media from all around the world. Even the advanced world.
This, however, does not make it right, nor does it justify the absence of a transparent, objective investigation mechanism into such incidents.
It would serve greatly the purpose of containing and addressing such infringements, if there were more effective mechanisms!
We must not allow for the few crooked to smear the reputation of the police and security agencies, and their great role in protecting the citizen and safeguarding their rights.
Moreover, we need to establish measures to ensure the integrity of internal investigation, for such incidents lay the foundation of trust and justice, for the state and the citizen.
Otherwise, we will never achieve the state and rule of law, or citizenship.
This article is an edited translation of the Arabic version, published by AlGhad.
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