17 arrested in Jordan on charge of belonging to prohibited Islamic party

The attorney general of the Jordanian's Nations Council officially detained 17 suspected members of the prohibited Islamic Liberation Party in Jordan on the charge of belonging to an illegal organization. Three other suspects were released.

Among those arrested is engineer Ata Abu El-Rosheta, the party's spokesman.

Jordanian Minister of Information Nasser Joudah said today that the security bodies arrested 20 persons last week, and three were released due to a lack of proof of involvement in the organization. The penalty for belonging to an illegal organization is three years of imprisonment.

Sources close to the Liberation Party stated that the detentions were implemented two weeks ago because the party distributed a statement about the water crisis from which the Jordanian capital suffered in which the party demanded the establishment of a state of law to solve the problems from which Jordan suffers.

The Liberation Party was established in Jerusalem in 1950 by Sheikh Taki El-Din El-Nabehani, and it urges comprehensive changes in establishing a ruling state, yet it refuses to resort to violence.