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Jordan
Amnesty International has no adopted prisoners in Jordan, but during the past year several actions have been taken on behalf of imprisoned Palestinians. In July 1974 the Campaign for the Abolition of Torture initiated a campaign for Saleh Raafat, a former member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and a member of the political bureau of the Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP). As was pointed out in a letter from Secretary General Martin Ennals to the Jordanian Ambassador in London, Al intervened in this case before knowing what charges has been brought against Mr Raafat because of reports that he was being ill- treated in prison.
In August 1974, AI sent a cable to King Hussein of Jordan urging him to free nine Palestinian trade unionists who were being detained without charge or trial. Details of the case were given in a news release issued at the same time. In November 1974 an amnesty for political prisoners was announced by King Hussein, following his return from the Arab Summit Conference in Rabat, and the Secretary General of AI was informed by the Jordanian Prime Minister, Zaid Al-Rifai, that all nine trade unionists were now free.
In February 1975, however, reports of new arrests of Palestinians appeared in the press, accompanied in some instances by allegations that the prisoners were being ill-treated. In a letter to the Jordanian Prime Minister, AI Deputy Secretary General Hans Ehrenstrale requested the reason for the arrests and said that he "would be grateful to receive your assurance that under no circumstances would torture be sanctioned by the Jordanian government”.
It is not known exactly how many political prisoners there are in Jordan at the present time, but the number is possibly around 100.
Libya
Amnesty International has learned that, of the 300-400 Libyans arrested following the popular revolution in April 1973 for their alleged opposition to the government, 130 still detained were tried in the summer of 1974. The court ordered their release, but the government authorities countermanded the order and they were re-arrested the same day.
Since then many more have been released and about 40 remain in detention: two alleged Trotskyists, 12-15 members of the Moslem Liberation Movement and 22 alleged Marxists. None have been sentenced and none now have access to their lawyers. Almost all are in Tripoli Central prison where treatment and conditions are said to be satisfactory. Efforts are being made to establish whether the four Libyans adopted by AI are among those still in detention.
Oman
Murad Abdul Wahab, the only prisoner in Oman for whom an Amnesty Interna- tional group is working, was previously believed to be imprisoned in Bahrain and was the subject of a postcard campaign in October 1974. However, the Bahraini authorities subsequently informed the International Secretariat that Mr Wahab had been deported to Oman in March 1973, and AI has since regarded him as being a prisoner in Oman.