Four police officers held in connection with detainee’s death

AMMAN — Four police officers have been detained in connection with the death of a man in custody in Irbid on Saturday, a senior official source said. 

“The police prosecutor issued orders for the four officers to be detained pending further investigation and charges are expected to be levelled against them on Tuesday,” the official source told The Jordan Times on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, the government coordinator on human rights, Basel Tarawneh, said he was closely following up on the case.

“We are in close contact with the police regarding this matter and the police chief has taken a swift decision to form a special urgent committee to investigate the incident,” Tarawneh added.

Abdullah Zu’bi reportedly died shortly after police arrested him on alleged drug-related charges following a brief chase, Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

It was initially reported that the 19-year-old died after falling from the roof of the Irbid Police Station while allegedly attempting to escape.

However, a video that went viral on the Internet showed Zu’bi covered in bruises, prompting his family to demand an investigation into the incident.

A post-mortem investigation conducted by a team of government pathologists indicated that he died of internal bleeding as a result of multiple bruises, according to Kais Koussous, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.

“We detected multiple bruises on different parts of the victim’s body that are not consistent with a fall or the result of an accident. They were caused by someone,” Koussous told The Jordan Times.

The pathologist said blood and tissue samples taken from the victim during the autopsy were sent to the crime lab for further analysis.

“The results are expected within 10 days and they should also help in the ongoing investigation,” Koussous added.

Tarawneh told The Jordan Times that he was “assured by police that anyone found responsible in this incident will be punished in accordance with the law”.