JORDAN. ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME CRIMES SYMBOLIC AT BEST, FIDH

the Jordanian Government's decision to abolish the death penalty for some crimes is a positive but insufficient step, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said as it released the preliminary findings of a fact-finding mission that visited the country in July.
Following the visit of FIDH's mission the Jordanian Government announced its intention to refer to Parliament a bill that would replace the death penalty with life imprisonment for some crimes, including the possession of weapons and explosives and drug-related offences, while retaining the death penalty for "the most dangerous crimes".
If the death penalty is retained for these crimes it is unlikely that the number of executions will decrease. According to figures provided to the fact-finding team by Jordanian officials, 41 persons were executed in Jordan since the beginning of 2000, all of whom were convicted for murder, terrorism or sexual assault charges.