Middle East News
Relatives of detained Jordanian Salafists demand their release
Jun 12, 2011, 13:13 GMT
Amman - The family members of detained militant Salafists protested in front of the Jordanian premier's office on Sunday to demand their release.
They chanted slogans, held banners and criticized the government for failing to free scores of Salafists as part of last week's general amnesty, in which about 4,000 prisoners were pardoned.
The protesters accused Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit of going back on an earlier promise that the Salafists would be among those pardoned.
The detained Salafists have been on a hunger strike since Saturday to press their demands for freedom, their relatives said.
About 90 Salafists were arrested after a rally in the city of Zarqa, 25 kilometres east of Amman, in April following a clash with police.
Dozens of other Salafists are serving jail terms after being sentenced by the State Security Court over the past few years for planning attacks on Jordanian, Israeli or US targets.
The Salafists want Islamic Sharia law to be established in Jordan, where they want to set up an Islamic state.
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