Jordanian Government Approves Amendments to 'Terrorism' Laws to Strengthen Penalties - Sarmad

The Jordanian government approved a package of amendments to laws concerning “terrorism cases,” by imposing harsher penalties, including raising the minimum prison term and imposing supervisory measures on convicts after their sentences expire, according to the Jordan News Agency (Petra).

The government granted the proposed amendments an urgent status, with the bills to be referred to the House of Representatives within two weeks for discussion and approval in accordance with constitutional procedures.

Under the proposed amendments, the minimum penalties for terrorism offenses under the Anti-Terrorism Law will be increased from five years to ten years, and from ten years to fifteen years in certain cases, while penalties for specific crimes may reach the death sentence.

The amendments also include the aggregation of prison terms for convicts in terrorism cases when multiple crimes are committed, requiring that the sentence for each crime be calculated separately, rather than applying only the highest penalty as currently practiced, with the aim of achieving both general and specific deterrence.

Furthermore, the amendments stipulate that one year of imprisonment for terrorism convicts will be calculated based on 12 months instead of nine months, and will deny them the benefit of Article 34 of the Prisons and Rehabilitation Centers Law, which allows for early release after serving three-quarters of their sentence, given the severity and special nature of these crimes.