Jordanians in Iraqi prisons stage hunger strike 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Jordanians in Iraqi jails started a hunger strike on Wednesday protesting against harsh prison conditions and demanding fair trials, a human rights activist said.

According to Abdul Karim Shraideh, head of the national committee for defending Jordanian detainees abroad, around 50 Jordanians jailed in Iraq on political charges are receiving harsh treatment from prison authorities.

The activist said the prisoners launched the hunger strike to protest against the unfair trials they received, adding that the strike also aims to draw the attention of Jordanian authorities to their case.

They are also demanding extradition in order to serve their sentences in Jordanian prisons, he noted.

The majority of the prisoners have been in Iraqi jails since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to Shraideh, who said that some of them have received sentences of over 15 years.

Regarding the number of Jordanian prisoners abroad, Shraideh, who is also head of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in Jordan, said there are 252 in Syria, 35 in Saudi Arabia, six in Iran and around 25 in Israel.

He pointed out that the committee and relatives of the prisoners recently staged a sit-in in front of the Royal Court to convey the demands of the families to officials and to urge the government to exert more efforts to release prisoners abroad.

"We are still waiting for a response with regard to arranging a meeting with Royal Court Chief Riad Abu Karaki," he noted.