House endorses bill on prohibition of chemical weapons

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday passed the draft prohibition of chemical weapons law, restricting the use of chemical agents for crowd control solely to tear gas, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the session, an overwhelming majority of MPs approved a proposal by their colleague Abdul Karim Dughmi, (Mafraq, 1st District), to rephrase a provision in the bill related to the use of chemical agents to control rioting.

As reworded by Dughmi and then approved by MPs, “only” tear gas in the form of grenades or aerosol cans and “no other chemical agents” shall be used by security bodies to control brawls, Petra reported.

Interior Minister Hussein Majali said protests, rallies and demonstrations of political nature are not classified as acts of rioting, stressing that authorities have never used chemical agents to contain such peaceful gatherings, according to Petra.

Also on Tuesday, 25 lawmakers signed a memorandum calling on the government to continue enforcing the death penalty for all those on death row, citing the “positive outcomes” of the execution of 11 convicts and terrorists Sajida Rishawi and Ziad Al Karboli recently.

Authorities executed Rishawi and Karboli on February 5 just one day after the release of a video showing the killing of Jordanian pilot Muath Kasasbeh at the hands of the Daesh terror group.

On December 22, 2014, prison authorities executed 11 men convicted of murders, a move that signalled reinstating the death penalty in Jordan after it had been frozen since March 2006.