(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Police on Wednesday arrested two demonstrators following an Amman sit-on that marked the latest in a series of demonstrations over the ongoing detention of protesters.
According to security sources, police arrested leftists Fadi Massamareh and Laith Al Souri shortly following an evening rally at the Interior Ministry Circle during which the activists allegedly chanted illegal slogans.
The recent arrests raise to 11 the number of people detained over the past week for making public comments deemed insulting to the Royal family or harming national security.
Some 50 participants had turned out for the Wednesday rally, the latest in a series of protests over the detention of political activists.
As of Wednesday, seven of the 11 detained activists - all of whom are affiliated with politically unaligned popular movements - had been referred to the State Security Court and charged with illegal assembly, slandering the King and "undermining the stability of the regime", charges that could collectively land each detainee up to 10 years in prison.
The growing tensions between activists and security services date back to last Friday, when authorities arrested Mohammed Al Amarra following a pro-reform rally in the southern city of Tafileh during which he allegedly made statements insulting the Royal family.
An evening rally in Tafileh to protest Amarra's detention later that day descended into clashes between participants and security forces after activists allegedly began chanting slogans the government said "violated all Jordanian norms and standards of decency".
Police arrested six Tafileh and Amman activists following the rally. The incident marked the second such clashes between security personnel and activists in Tafileh, 179 kilometres south of Amman, which witnessed some of the first events in the country's 21-month-old protest movement.
In March, authorities arrested 20 Tafileh residents for their participation in a protest that descended into riots, charging the activists with chanting slogans deemed insulting to the Monarch and "threatening to the regime" - violations that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
The 20 Tafileh activists were later released upon Royal directives, along with others detained on similar allegations.
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