Jordan's Higher Court of Justice is expected to issue its verdict late this month or summon four government officials to testify in a case involving four Hamas leaders who were sent abroad in November, reported the English daily Jordan Times Tuesday.
Hamas leaders' attorney Saleh Armouti told the daily Monday that he had requested that the court summon the officials, to prove that his clients had been "deported" from Jordan and had not left voluntarily as the government has contended.
Armouti was quoted as saying he demanded that the court hear the testimonies of prime minister Abdur-Ra'uf Rawabdeh, deputy prime minister Ayman Majali, former justice minister Hamzah Haddad and the prosecutor general of the State Security Court.
"The executive authority has interfered in the work of the judiciary when they sent the Hamas leaders abroad after their detention - a clear interference in judicial proceedings," the lawyer told the Jordan Times.
"The government has repeatedly denied that Hamas leaders were deported and insisted that they left Jordan upon their own volition," he added.
"But the way Hamas leaders were treated shows that they were deported," Armouti said, adding that the court will hold its next session on June 26th.
Last November, Hamas leaders Khalid Misha'al, Ibrahim Ghosheh, Izzat Risheq and Sami Khater left for Qatar after being held for several weeks in jail.
The four, who were rounded up along with several other suspects in a nationwide crackdown on the movement, were to face trial in the State Security Court on charges of arms possession and membership of an illegal group, the daily said.
They denied these allegations and said their activities in Jordan were conducted in accordance with an earlier agreement with a previous government, the daily added - Albawba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
