Jordanian court calls for lifting immunity of Jordanian parliamentarian on rape charges

The prosecutor general of the major Criminal Court in Jordan asked the Jordanian parliament to lift immunity from Jordanian Parliament member Ahmad al-Abbadi under charges of sexual assault.

Jordanian Parliamentary sources said that speaker of the Jordanian parliament Abdul Hadi al-Majali received the memorandum of the prosecutor general, which calls for lifting the immunity according to provision 86 of the constitution.

Earlier, the Jordanian weekly al-Hadath (event) published under a main headline entitled, "Sexual scandals for a Jordanian politician." The paper noted that the politician was accused by a teenager of rape.

If proven the "rape" sentence is 10 years in prison with hard labor.

Jordanian parliamentary sources expected the parliament to refuse the lifting of immunity, but to be tried at the end of the parliament's ordinary session on March 28, 1999, when his immunity will be spontaneously lifted.

Al-Abbadi is an independent parliamentarian. He was accused last year of undermining national unity in Jordan.