36 OTHMAN (ABU QATADA) v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT the case of another, Mr Ra’ed Hijazi, (a US-Jordanian national) a doctor had testified that he had contracted severe pneumonia whilst held in incommunicado detention. The United States consul, who was said to have seen marks of torture on him, could not give evidence at trial for reasons of diplomatic immunity. 115. The report also concluded that the MOU between the UK and Jordan was inappropriate given Jordan’s failure to observe the absolute prohibition on torture and, moreover, post-monitoring return could not replace the requirements of international law that there be systemic legislative, judicial and administrative safeguards to prevent torture. Monitoring, even by professional organisations, was insufficient to prevent it. 2. Human Rights Watch 116 In its report “Suspicious Sweeps: the General Intelligence Department and Jordan’s Rule of Law Problem” of 18 September 2006 the organisation documented cases of ill-treatment by the GID. The report also contained the following section on prosecutors before the State Security Court : “The SSC is a special court established pursuant to Articles 99 and 100 of Jordan’s constitution. ... The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appoints a military officer to serve as prosecutor, underlining the court’s subordinate character. The SSC prosecutor’s offices are physically located inside the central GID complex. The SCC [sic] prosecutor is the officer who issues charges against detainees and authorizes their continued detention. The SSC prosecutor who investigates the crimes of which detainees at the GID are accused is a military officer, ultimately under the same administrative authority as the intelligence officials. This reflects a fundamental lack of independence and impartiality. ... Article 7 of the SSC law provides that people who are being investigated with a view to prosecuting them for a crime for which the SCC enjoys jurisdiction can be detained ‘where necessary for a period not exceeding seven days’ before being brought before the prosecutor to be charged. The prosecutor can extend the detention warrant for renewable periods of fifteen days after charging a suspect, if it is ‘in the interest of the investigation.’ A practicing defense lawyer told Human Rights Watch that ‘it is normal for detainees to remain at the GID for around six months. They are transferred to a normal prison or released when the GID has finished its investigation.’ Under Jordanian law, although the prosecutor is formally in charge of an investigation once charges are filed, in matters before the SCC the practice is for the prosecutor to delegate responsibility to GID officers to continue the investigation, including interrogation. All the detainees interviewed by Human Rights Watch