Protesters face charges in Jordan

AMMAN - Reuters

Security agents in Jordan were interrogating 130 demonstrators who could face charges for calling for the downfall of King Abdullah in protests triggered by a sharp rise in fuel prices. Judicial officials told Reuters on Nov. 18 the young men, many of them in their teens, had been detained for 15 days and could be charged with threatening the state. The men were among dozens arrested during protests that began on Nov. 14 in impoverished towns across the kingdom and in many places turned violent. Some of the men in detention were among thousands who chanted the Arab Spring slogan “the people want the downfall of the regime” near the Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman. The judicial officials said those detained could be charged with “threatening to undermine the regime, illegal gathering, and creating civil strife.”

Although the charges carry sentences of up to five years, convictions in such cases are rare.