Jordan Times
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Baghdad willing to swap
prisoners with Jordan - envoy
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN - Iraqi authorities on Tuesday said Baghdad is willing to activate an
agreement that allows for the extradition of Jordanian prisoners in Iraq to
spend the rest of their imprisonment terms in Jordan, Iraqi Ambassador in Amman
Saad Hayyani said.
The 1983 Riyadh Arab Agreement for Judicial Cooperation stipulates a swap of
prisoners to spend the rest of their prison terms in their respective home
countries.
Meeting with a delegation from the Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR),
which spearheads a campaign to free Jordanian prisoners in Iraq, Hayyani said
the embassy is ready to arrange for the families of prisoners to visit their
relatives in Iraq.
"We met with a delegation from the AOHR today and we asked for a letter
outlining all demands so we can present it to the Iraqi government for approval
and we will help in this regard and we are ready to discuss the issue with the
Iraqi government," Hayyani told The Jordan Times following the meeting with the
human rights watchdog representatives.
According to the AOHR, there are 46 Jordanians jailed in Iraq, some of whom are
maltreated while others are held with no trials.
"The delegation asked for activating the Riyadh agreement and arranging for a
visit to the Iraqi jails and we are ready to help with that and seek the
approval of the Iraqi government as we want to close this file," said the
ambassador, stressing that the agreement can be activated upon approval by both
Jordanian and Iraqi authorities.
Under the pan-Arab judicial cooperation pact, each contracting party undertakes
to extradite persons found in its territory charged by the competent authority
with a crime, or convicted of having committed one, by a judicial body of any
other contracting parties subject to the terms and conditions in the deal.
The Jordanian government has emphasised on several occasions that the issue of
Jordanian prisoners abroad tops its priorities, stressing that it will continue
to exert its utmost efforts to reach a satisfactory solution to the issue.
"We are concerned with the release of Jordanian prisoners abroad, especially
those who were acquitted by the judiciary in Iraq… We are more concerned to see
them back home safe through proper channels," Minister of State for Media
Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Nabil Sharif told The
Jordan Times, saying the government does not have any information about any
Iraqi request to activate the Riyadh agreement.
Abdul Karim Shreideh, head of the prisoners and detention centres committee at
AOHR, said the organisation received "strong" support from the Iraqi ambassador
over the demand to activate the agreement and arrange a visit to Iraqi jails.