Front Line is concerned following reports received that Egyptian human rights defender, Mr Gamal Eid, was detained and interrogated by the Jordanian intelligence service in Amman's Alia airport for 6 hours prior to being deported to Egypt on 15 December 2008. Gamal Eid is the Executive Director of the The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). The ANHRI distributes information regarding human rights violations in the MENA region and provides legal support to cases related to human rights.

Further Information

On 15 December, Gamal Eid was returning to Amman from Beirut after participating in the annual prize giving ceremony of the World Association of Newspapers. From Beirut, he flew to Amman to hold a series of preparation meetings for a training course for journalists. Gamal Eid was not informed by the Jordanian authorities until an hour prior to his detention at Amman airport that he had been denied entry to Jordan. He was then reportedly detained in a dirty cell for six hours at the airport during which time he alleges that he was questioned by the security apparatus and the Jordanian intelligence service, the “Mukhabarat.”After six hours he was deported to Cairo. According to reports received, Gamal Eid's deportation is a form of retaliation against him for criticising the state of freedom of expression in Jordan during a November 2006 speech in Amman to a conference organised by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) on freedom of expression in the Arab world. At the time, a Jordanian security officer allegedly told him not to think about returning to Jordan again. During his detention the Jordanian intelligence services reportedly asked Gamal Eid to pay a bribe in exchange for his release, which he refused to do.

Front Line believes that Gamal Eid was targeted by the Jordanian authorities because of his legitimate and peaceful activities in defence of human rights.