Prominent Jordanian MP arrested over Facebook post criticising government

Jordanian security forces arrested Yanal Freihat, a prominent member of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) party, on Sunday.

Freihat was later released on bail, pending an investigation into a Facebook post that allegedly violated the country’s Cybercrime Law.

The public prosecutor ordered Freihat’s detention for one week after he criticised a government statement accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of illegally collecting 30 million dinars ($42m), while also questioning the government’s version of events.

Freihat is widely seen as one of Jordan’s leading conservative members of parliament. He has consistently won in past elections and enjoys broad popular support.

In the September 2024 parliamentary elections, he received 18,000 votes - one of the highest counts nationwide.

In that same election, the IAF - the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood - secured the largest number of votes, largely due to its strong stance on the Palestinian cause.

Over the past two months, Jordan’s intelligence agency has detained and interrogated hundreds of people who have shown solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in what is the largest arrest campaign to have taken place in the kingdom in decades.  

Freihat’s arrest marks the most significant escalation against the IAF to date. He is the first sitting MP to be detained since Jordan’s security crackdown on the conservative movement began in April, when the government formally banned the Muslim Brotherhood.

Why is the Jordan targeting the Muslim Brotherhood?

At the time, Interior Minister Mazin Abdellah Hilal al-Farrayeh announced that promoting the Brotherhood’s "ideology" was now illegal.

In a press conference, he declared a total ban on the group, saying that “any activity by the group, regardless of its nature, is considered a violation of the law.” Authorities shut down the group’s offices, confiscated its assets, and outlawed all forms of affiliation or contact.

Farrayeh warned that anyone proven to be linked to the group’s activities would face criminal prosecution.

Jordan targeting Gaza solidarity in largest arrest campaign in decades

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Jordan’s Court of Cassation had already ruled in July 2020 that the Muslim Brotherhood lacked legal standing in the country, ordering its dissolution.

In April, Jordan’s General Intelligence Department said it had arrested a 16-member armed cell allegedly planning to manufacture drones and missiles to support Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The case was transferred to the State Security Court, and a gag order was imposed on any reporting.

Since then, security services have launched a broad campaign of arrests targeting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Among those detained was Ahmed al-Zarqan, the Brotherhood’s deputy leader, who remains imprisoned. Murad al-Adayleh, the group’s general supervisor, was also summoned for questioning but later released.

Founded in Cairo in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is one of the best-known political Islam groups in the world. It insists on peaceful democratic participation but is banned in several countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, where governments view it as a threat to their rule.