(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Hundreds of Jordanians rallied on Friday demanding the release of over one-dozen jailed protesters, accusing authorities of enforcing "police state" policies.
In a series of demonstrations around the country, scores of leftist, independent and tribal activists protested the recent arrests of 11 demonstrators, calling on the government to release "all political prisoners".
Citizens rallied in Karak, Theeban, Maan and Irbid to call for an end to what they called security services' "grip" on public life, chanting: "We demand the release of political prisoners," witnesses said.
The epicentre of Friday's rallies was in Tafileh, where the arrest of local political activist Mohammad Maabreh last week for allegedly insulting the Royal family sparked a series of daily demonstrations.
Participants also called for the dissolution of the State Security Court, where seven of the detained protesters have been sent for trial.
An evening rally in the southern city last Friday demanding Maabreh's release descended into violence after participants allegedly began chanting slogans deemed "threatening" to the regime, triggering clashes between protesters and security personnel and leading to six arrests.
Authorities arrested five additional activists over the course of last week for chanting "illegal slogans" during various rallies in Amman demanding the release of the Tafileh protesters.
As of Saturday, seven of the 11 detainees had been transferred to the State Security Court, where they face charges of "undermining the regime", "illegal assembly" and slandering the King, charges that could land each activist up to 10 years in prison.
Also on Friday, Human Rights Watch denounced the series of arrests, urging Amman to respect citizens' "peaceful exercise of their rights to expression, association, and assembly".
In a statement, the human rights watchdog claimed that a total of 15 activists had been detained in the series of arrests, accusing authorities of using "laws against terrorism to prosecute peaceful activists".
Officials have repeatedly stated that the detained activists had acted outside the law and violated "all norms of decency" during the protests.
Members of so-called popular movements contend that their rallies were peaceful prior to the intervention of security personnel.
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