Jordan jails four for 20 years over plans to 'target national security'

A Jordanian court sentenced four people to 20 years in prison on Wednesday over plans to "target national security", after a plot was uncovered last month.

The four people were convicted of the "possession of explosives, weapons and ammunition with the intent to use them illegally and commit acts that would disrupt public order and threaten social safety and security, in violation of the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law", Jordan's State Security Court said in a statement.

It comes weeks after the kingdom foiled an armed plot against the kingdom's security by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The court statement did not specify whether the four people jailed were members of the group, but said the ruling was part of a "broader case involving 16 defendants".

The four were arrested in 2023 after the authorities seized weapons and explosives, it added.

Jordan's intelligence service announced on April 15 that it had foiled a plot against the kingdom and arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on suspicion of manufacturing rockets and possessing explosives. Last week, authorities banned any political activities related to the Muslim Brotherhood and closed its offices.

The group said it had "no link" to those arrested and that the people involved in the plot carried out "individual actions, within the context of supporting the resistance".

The group operates in Jordan under the banner of the Islamic Action Front, a religious party that has played a significant role in organising demonstrations in support of Gaza. The party made gains in Jordan's parliamentary elections in September last year, adding 24 seats to the eight it already held, raising its share of seats to one fifth of the assembly.

Official TV reported that Ibrahim Mohammad, one of the 16 arrested, was a "primary" instigator of the plot. He is said to have come up with the plan of making missiles and arranged for two members to visit Lebanon and receive training.