JORDAN EXPECTED TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY

it is apparent that Jordan is moving towards abolishing the death penalty, an international law expert observed during a workshop on the role of media in raising public awareness on capital punishment, organized in Amman by the Adaleh Centre for Human Rights Studies and supported by the European Union. “It’s clear from Jordan’s position that it does not favor the death penalty,” Mohammad Musa said, indicating that the death sentence has existed as a law and not a practice for five years in a row.
Adaleh Centre President Asem Rababaa agreed that Jordan is on its way to abolishing the death sentence, noting that the Kingdom did not carry out any executions since 2006 to pave the way for entering into the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights optional protocol, which is against the death penalty.
He criticized the Arab League’s human rights charter, which prohibits the execution of minors, while allowing signatory states to execute persons below the age of 18 if permissible under their respective local laws. The activists underlined the significant role the media can play in bolstering efforts to abolish the death penalty.
"Media personnel should have enough experience and knowledge to convince Jordanian society to stand against the death penalty,” according to Feisal Zu’bi, a director of TV programmes and series, who noted that Arab movies and series “indirectly” encourage execution. "When movies and TV channels focus on violent people and exaggerate their brutality, they rally viewers in support of the death penalty,” he noted.