Jordan- Crowds protest attack on opposition leader

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Around 200 people staged a one-hour sit-in on Sunday at the Professional Associations Complex in Shmeisani to protest against an assault on veteran opposition leader Leith Shbeilat by anonymous individuals earlier that day.

Shbeilat was attacked around 7:30am yesterday while buying bread at a bakery in downtown Amman, after which he drove himself all the way to Amman Surgical Hospital.

Shbeilat, a former MP, unionist and a co-owner of a contracting company, suffered bruises to the face and other parts of his body, and lost some teeth as a result of the attack, a reminder of similar incidents in the 1990s.

Shbeilat disappeared from the political scene several years ago and has rarely been seen in public, except for scattered interviews with regional and international networks and other media outlets.

"I didn't have a good look at the assailants because they attacked me from behind. They just started beating me up," Shbeilat, who is currently receiving treatment at the hospital, told The Jordan Times yesterday.

He added that the situation could have been worse if the people who happened to be in the bakery had not helped him.

He said the perpetrators fled in a car that was waiting for them on the other side of the road, adding that he did not accuse any particular individual when he was interrogated by the police.

Public Security Department (PSD) Spokesperson Major Mohammad Khatib told The Jordan Times yesterday that the relevant authorities began looking into the case immediately after it was reported.

"The initial investigations indicated that the incident has no background. And it happened after the victim [Shbeilat] had an intense argument with a group of people," Khatib said.

In an address to participants at the protest yesterday, former MP Mansour Seifiddin said the attack was a reaction to Shbeilat's statements at the Socialist Thought Forum and the National Initiative seminar titled-"the State and the Law" last week.

"Shbeilat, during the seminar, called on authorities to fight corruption, respect the Constitution and to cease all forms of normalization with the Zionist enemy," Seifiddin said.

Speaking on behalf of the Socialist Thought Forum, the former MP called on authorities to expose the "hidden hands" behind the attack on Shbeilat and said the forum "rejects all assaults against unionists and political activists for their views and opinions".

Also yesterday, the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) issued a statement condemning the attack, stressing that Shbeilat was speaking at a public event and was only practicing the right of freedom of expression.

"As the JEA council emphasizes the importance of public freedom and democracy, it hopes that the incident does not become a trend of assaults against patriotic figures," the statement said.

According to an eyewitness, who spoke to The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity, the attackers were beaten back by the people in the bakery but managed to escape.

The bakery owner and the workers were summoned by authorities for interrogation, they said.

By Hani Hazaimeh