HRC 57 : 23 September : GD Item 4 General debate on the human rights situations that require the Council’s attention
Jordan: Six members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light to be tried as heretics
We are deeply concerned about the arrest in Jordan in late July of six members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, a new religious movement founded 25 years ago.
They were just distributing in public in Amman flyers which simply described traditions related to the appearance of Imam Mahdi.
They were detained in unhuman conditions, mice and rats infesting their cells. They were released on bail after about three weeks of detention. But they were forced to pledge a payment of 70,000 US Dollars, should they ever publicly express or propagate again their religion.
They will be prosecuted for allegedly “insulting religious feelings of others” and “inciting sectarian strife.”
Since 2016, the authorities have arrested several members of the community due to their divergent beliefs from the traditional Muslim views. They have subjected them to repeated brutal interrogation about their faith which is considered to be heretical.
