Jail for Jordanians convicted of recruiting for Hamas

Twelve Jordanians were sentenced on Tuesday to jail terms of up to 15 years for their involvement in a cell recruiting members for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Of 16 defendants, "four were acquitted and 12 convicted of terrorist offences", a judicial source said.

"Four were sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison, while three detainees got five years," the source said. One was sentenced to three years and four to one year.

All were found guilty of manufacturing explosives, carrying out acts to disturb the peace and "recruiting people on behalf of armed groups".

Ties between Jordan and Hamas, the de facto power in the Gaza Strip, have been strained since 1999 when the kingdom expelled the Palestinian movement's chief Khaled Meshaal.

Two years previously, Meshaal had survived an attempt by the Israeli secret service Mossad to kill kim.

Relations between Jordan and Hamas worsened further in 2006 when Amman accused the group of arms trafficking from Syria.
Source: AFP