Toujan al-Faisal trial started

The attorney general of the state security court has brought the former member of parliament in Jordan Mrs. Toujan al-Faisal before the court under the charge of "violating the reputation of the state," according to judiciary sources in Amman on Monday.

The Jordanian attorney general Muhannad Hijazi accused al- Faisal of disseminating inside and outside Jordan "false statements that undermine the reputation of the sate and defaming its citizens." The penalty for these accusations is expected to be 6 months imprisonment and a fee of 50 Jordanian dinars ( USD 70 ). The attorney general also accused Faisal of saying words before the guards of the prison that "insulted the religious feelings " and the penalty stated in the law over this accusation is 3 months imprisonment.

Faisal is the first Jordanian woman to be elected in the Jordanian parliament during 1993- 1997. The attorney general arrested the former member of parliament one month earlier when she sent a message by the E mail to King Abdullah II in which she accused the Jordanian prime minister Ali Abu al-Ragheb of "benefiting financially" from a government decision to increase insurance fees on cars by 100%, a matter which was deliberately denied by the Jordanian government.