Authorities Shield Officers Who Tortured Hamza Bani Issa and Gouged His Left Eye
العربية
Washington D.C., July 24, 2025 — Jordanian authorities should hold accountable the security officers responsible for the brutal beating of detained political activist Hamza Bani Issa, 39, which left him completely blind in one eye, said DAWN today. DAWN is also investigating the death of a young Jordanian engineer, Ahmad Al Ibrahim, reportedly due to police torture in custody on July 19. Rather than investigate and prosecute the abusive security officials, Jordanian authorities have threatened the victims' family members against seeking justice.
"What's shocking isn't only that security forces beat and blinded a young Jordanian man in their custody, but that Jordanian authorities have shielded the abusive forces from any accountability," said Jamal Al Tahat, DAWN's senior advisor. "The King's failure to rein in the security apparatus and ensure its operations are subject to the rule of law are a dangerous failure of leadership, jeopardizing the rights of the country's citizens as well as the country's stability."
On March 25, 2025, Jordanian security forces arrested and brutally beat Bani Issa, a chemistry teacher and activist, in Irbid, 85 km northeast of Amman, while his family said he was distributing leaflets about Israeli atrocities in Gaza. They took him to the East Irbid Security Center, as first reported by Ahrar Platform for Human Rights.
DAWN interviewed two individuals close to the Bani Issa family on June 14 and 15, who said that police viciously beat Bani Issa after he refused to remove all of his clothing at the East Irbid police station, leading to the loss of his left eye.
According to information obtained by DAWN, the officer on duty at the East Irbid Police Station was Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Khalil Al-Jaradin. "The police restrained him and continued to beat him so viciously that it led to the global luxation of his eyeball—causing it to explode, and the lens to fall out of its socket and onto his face," a family member told DAWN.
According to the family and medical records reviewed by DAWN, police authorities transferred Bani Issa late on March 25 to Princess Basma Hospital. The medical report states that Bani Issa underwent emergency surgery to repair his eye and was discharged the following day, March 26, with a prescription for eye drops. On April 16, he was referred back to the hospital. Dr. Widad Dolat, the attending physician at the hospital, subsequently referred him to Prince Hamza Hospital in Amman for further evaluation, in light of the lost vision in his left eye. On June 29, Prince Hamza Hospital issued a medical report confirming that his left eye had lost all ability to perceive light. Follow-up examinations determined that the police beating had caused a complete retinal detachment, leading to permanent blindness in his left eye, according to medical records reviewed by DAWN.
On Sunday, July 13, Hamza Bani Issa's mother released a video demanding justice for her son, who remains unjustly detained in Zarqa Prison. His father, Mohammad Mejali Bani Issa, shared the video on his personal Facebook page, along with other posts, in an effort to raise awareness and demand accountability. However, the authorities froze the link to the mother's video on Facebook after it had been widely viewed; the video remains available on YouTube.
Rather than holding Bani Issa's abusers accountable, government authorities have threatened the family with retaliation for speaking out about the abuse. A family member told DAWN that Dr. Mohamad Shboul, Director of the Irbid Governor's Office, made a threatening phone call to Bani Issa's father on July 13, ordering him to remove the posts and warning him to remain silent. Dr. Shboul explicitly threatened that failure to comply would prompt retaliatory actions by the security services.
"This blatant attempt to silence a grieving family and cover up a grave injustice underscores the dangerous abuse of power and disregard for the rights of citizens that has become the hallmark of the Jordanian government," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's Executive Director.
Unjust Prosecution of Bani Issa Continues
Jordanian authorities are now seeking to prosecute Bani Issa for his peaceful political activism. On March 26, police referred Bani Issa directly to the State Security Court (SSC) for prosecution. However, on the same day, the SSC dismissed the case due to defects in the indictment sheet. Then, on March 27, police brought Bani Issa before the Irbid Public Prosecutor, Talal Al Khazaeleh, who referred him back to the SSC with several new charges.
The indictment sheet outlines three principal charges: affiliation with an organization that is not legally recognized or licensed—Hizb al-Tahrir—a charge for which Bani Issa had already been prosecuted and served a three-year prison sentence from January 1, 2017, to April 30, 2019; distribution of leaflets on behalf of the unlicensed group, Hizb al-Tahrir, as the leaflets he was distributing —addressing Israeli genocide crimes in Gaza—were signed by Hizb al-Tahrir; and endangering national security by engaging in actions that could potentially expose the Kingdom to hostile acts, "undermine relations with foreign countries," and place Jordanian citizens and their property at risk of retaliatory attacks. All of these charges pertain exclusively to Bani Issa's peaceful expression of his political opinions, which are protected speech and association rights under the Jordanian Constitution and international human rights laws.
Three months later, the State Security Court has not yet proceeded with the trial, and Hamza remains detained in Zarqa Prison in pretrial detention, a common tactic used by Jordanian authorities to harass and punish political activists even though they have not been found guilty of any crime. The sluggish progress in the SSC case, coupled with the continued imprisonment of Bani Issa, strongly suggests the court's complicity with the police perpetrators against the victim.
Failure to Investigate and Prosecute Bani Issa's Abusers
According to family members, Bani Issa filed a lawsuit against the police officers who assaulted him. However, on May 7, the Irbid Governorate Police Prosecutor, Muhammad al-Halalmah, dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence, citing insufficient proof. Al-Halalmah did not present Bani Issa's family with any documentation indicating that he conducted an investigation into the alleged abuses, as mandated by Jordanian law and the internal regulations of the Public Security Directorate (PSD).
To date, the PSD has released no findings or recommendations regarding the violent assault on Bani Issa. On June 26, DAWN interviewed lawyer Asem Al Omari, a member of the National Forum for the Defense of Freedoms — a volunteer organization composed of lawyers defending Jordanian activists arrested for expressing their political opinions. Al Omari confirmed that the failure to prosecute the police personnel responsible for this shocking assault, along with the continued denial of Bani Issa's rights, "reflects full consent — and even encouragement — from the highest authorities."
DAWN sent letters to Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, Interior Minister Mazen Faraya, and Public Security Directorate (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Obaidallah Maaytah requesting information on the actions taken to ensure an impartial, transparent investigation into the attack on Bani Issa, including holding all perpetrators accountable and ensuring that both the victim and implicated security personnel are subject to fair legal proceedings before an independent civilian judiciary. Given indications that this case reflects a broader pattern of abuse by law enforcement, DAWN also asked for details on reforms or directives issued to improve oversight, end impunity, and prevent future violations.
In these letters, DAWN further urged the three officials to ensure the victim receives full redress, including appropriate compensation and access to rehabilitation services, in accordance with Jordanian law and international human rights standards, particularly the Convention Against Torture.
Retaliation against Bani Issa and His Family
After the officers had physically assaulted him and gouged his left eye, they forced Bani Issa to strip naked in full view of numerous officers in the vicinity. The police demand for Bani Issa to undress is corroborated by statements from his family and records included in the Irbid Magistrates' Court trial documents.
Instead of accepting accountability for their abuses, on April 21, police filed a retaliatory case against Bani Issa in the Irbid Magistrates' Court, accusing him of resisting law enforcement officers.
According to the family, Bani Issa had refused to comply with the order to strip naked in front of several security officers— a degrading procedure reportedly inflicted on political activists by police that violates Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Jordanian Constitution. Strip searches in public areas are considered a prohibited and humiliating practice under the Jordanian Criminal Procedure Code No. 9 of 1961.
International law also mandates that strip searches should not be conducted routinely or arbitrarily, but justified by concrete and individualized reasons, such as a reasonable belief that the individual is concealing contraband or presents a security threat. Searches conducted without reasonable suspicion that the person possesses or has immediate access to an implement threatening themselves or others are deemed unacceptable, particularly when considering the trauma associated with such searches.
Any strip search conducted with the intent to humiliate, debase, or cause distress to the individual being searched is a clear violation of the prohibition of torture and degrading treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Rule 52 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (also known as the "Mandela Rules") explicitly states that intrusive searches, including strip and body cavity searches, "should be undertaken only if absolutely necessary" and must be conducted in private. A public strip search inherently lacks respect for dignity and can be humiliating, thus falling within the scope of this prohibition.
The European Court of Human Rights has consistently emphasized the need for strip searches to be conducted in a way that minimizes humiliation and respects dignity. In *Frérot v. France*, the court recognized that the manner of conducting a strip search can constitute a violation of Article 3.
Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Right to Dignity) also states that every individual has the right to respect for their inherent human dignity and prohibits all forms of exploitation and degradation. Public strip searches, which are inherently degrading and humiliating, are incompatible with this right.
Finally, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 7 (Prohibition of Torture or Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) and Article 17 (Right to Privacy) also limit strip searches. Publicly exposing an individual's naked body without their consent can be deemed cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 7, depending on the severity and context.The right to privacy under Article 17 is fundamental and encompasses bodily integrity and the right to control the disclosure of personal information, including one's own body. Public strip searches are a profound violation of this right.
"The Jordanian government owes Bani Issa not only an apology for blinding him, but also compensation and evidence that those officers who so viciously beat him are prosecuted for their crimes," said Al Tahat.
Systemic Impunity for Abusive Security Forces
Article 8 of Jordan's Constitution prohibits torture, and Article 208 of the Penal Code deems torture a crime and forbids courts from suspending sentences or considering mitigating circumstances in such cases. However, the Public Security law and regulations mandate trying police personnel for crimes committed in the line of duty exclusively before the PSD's internal judicial system.
Jordanian authorities have persistently ignored repeated calls by lawyers, victims' family members, and human rights activists for security personnel charged with torture crimes to be prosecuted before civilian courts—not special police or military tribunals—. Instead, leading authorities in the Public Security routinely obstruct Independent investigations, even in high-profile cases. For example, in June 2018, just one day after leaked photos surfaced showing the death-in-custody of Ibrahim Zahran at the Criminal Investigation Department in Amman, then-Director of the PSD, Major General Fadhil Al-Hmoud, announced the formation of the internal investigation committee; the committee never concluded or published its report, effectively precluding any possibility of an impartial, transparent, judicial inquiry.
On June 29, DAWN interviewed a retired brigadier from the PSD, who requested anonymity. He explained that the failure to prosecute those involved in the incident—even if they are ultimately found not guilty—is a blatant violation of Jordanian law and PSD regulations. He stated unequivocally, "The failure to prosecute those responsible for the Bani Issa abuse is clear evidence that the leadership does not consider such violent conduct a breach of standard performance."
DAWN urgently calls on the international community to demand that Jordanian authorities end the systemic impunity afforded to police personnel, perpetuated by the legal framework that exempts them from trial before civilian courts. This dual-track justice system entrenches inequality and protects law enforcement officers from accountability for their crimes under the ordinary criminal judicial process.
Since the government's effective neutralization of the Jordanian National Center for Human Rights in May 2022, Jordan has been deprived of credible, independent, and transparent investigations into egregious human rights violations. This has encouraged the authorities to disregard the law, undermining the rights of Jordanian citizens.
DAWN urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to mandate an investigation into the Bani Issa's case of torture and abuse in custody—whether committed in PSD or General Intelligence Department (GID) detention centers. These violations cannot be ignored or whitewashed any longer.
Jordan remains one of the largest recipients of financial and military aid from the United States and European countries, yet its citizens continue to endure gross and systemic violations of their most basic human rights. No country should provide aid to a government that grossly abuses the rights of its own citizens.
