Jordan's new measures aimed at foreigners (AP) Updated: 2005-11-16 01:42
Jordan introduced strict security measures aimed at
foreigners Tuesday and said it was drafting the country's first anti-terror
specific legislation to prevent further attacks like last week's the triple
hotel bombings.
A Jordanian woman passes by a mosque minaret and an apartment
building used as a safe house where police arrested the would-be bomber
Sajida Al-Rishawi Sunday in the city of Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, Nov. 15,
2005. Jordan introduced strict anti-terror measures Tuesday, including
demanding all foreigners renting properties be reported to authorities
within 48 hours, as the government steps up efforts to prevent further
attacks like last week's triple hotel bombings.
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The moves came as more details emerged about the 35-year-old Iraqi woman who
failed in her bid to blow herself up in an Amman hotel, with friends saying she
had three brothers killed by U.S. forces.
In a bid to keep foreign militants from operating covertly in Jordan,
Interior Minister Awni Yirfas announced new regulations demanding that all
Jordanians notify authorities within 48 hours of any foreigners renting an
apartment or house.
"Violators of this regulation will face legal ramifications," Yirfas said
without elaborating.
Authorities will demand that Jordanians provide the names, nationalities and
passport details of any foreigner renting a property.
Jordan also has begun drafting tough new anti-terrorism laws that will likely
be ready for parliament debate early next year, a top Interior Ministry official
said.
The laws propose allowing any suspect to be held for questioning indefinitely
and imposing penalties on "those who would expose the lives and properties of
citizens to danger inside and outside the country," the official said, speaking
on condition of anonymity as he was unauthorized to speak to the media.
Anyone condoning or justifying terror actions or supporting them financially
will face penalties under the proposed laws, he added.
Ad-Dustour, Jordan's second-largest daily, also said the legislation was
being drafted, citing the interior minister.
Jordanian security forces already wield far-reaching powers to arrest and
hold suspects, but the proposed laws would be the country's first specifically
designed to counter terrorism.
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