CAT/C/JOR/CO/3
withdrawal of national identification numbers from Jordanians of Palestinian origin, thus
subjecting them to the risk of unlawful expulsion and compromising their rights to, inter
alia, education and health care (arts. 3 and 16).
16.
The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CAT/C/JOR/CO/2,
para. 24) to put an end to the arbitrary withdrawal of national identification numbers
from Jordanians of Palestinian origin. The State party must also ensure that decisions
concerning revocation of nationality are taken by a competent authority and meet
relevant international criteria, including the right of persons concerned to be heard
and to challenge such decisions.
Fundamental legal safeguards
17.
The Committee notes the procedural safeguards set out in articles 100 and 113,
among others, of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, it regrets the absence of an
explicit provision on the right to access a lawyer immediately upon arrest; that articles 63
(2) and 64 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure allow the interrogation of detainees
without the presence of a lawyer “in case of urgency”; and that article 66 (1) of the same
Code allows the public prosecutor to prohibit communication with a detainee for a period
of up to 10 days, which is renewable. The Committee is concerned at the State party’s
failure to ensure the application of these and other fundamental legal safeguards to prevent
torture and ill-treatment. In that respect, the Committee is concerned about consistent
reports that detainees, in particular those held in facilities of the General Intelligence
Directorate and the Public Security Directorate, are frequently deprived of timely access to
a lawyer and a medical doctor, as well as of their right to notify a person of their choice. It
is also concerned by allegations regarding the failure to adhere to the 24-hour limit for
bringing detainees before a competent authority and to ensure the confidentiality of clientlawyer consultations (art. 2).
18.
The State party should ensure that all detainees are afforded, by law and in
practice, all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their deprivation of
liberty, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer without delay; the right to have
immediate access to an independent medical doctor, regardless of any medical
examination that may be conducted at the request of the authorities; to be informed of
the reasons for the arrest and the nature of any charges against them, in a language
that they understand; to be registered at the place of detention; to promptly inform a
close relative or a third party of their arrest; to be brought before a judge without
delay; and the right to confidential consultations with lawyers.
Pretrial detention
19.
The Committee is concerned about the high number of people placed in pretrial
detention. It is also concerned that, as a result, on-remand inmates are not systematically
separated from convicted prisoners, nor children from adults (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
20.
The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to reduce
the number of people placed in pretrial detention, including by resorting to
alternatives to imprisonment. The State party should also ensure the separation of
pretrial detainees from convicted prisoners and minors from adults, in all places of
detention.
Administrative detention
21.
The Committee is highly concerned at the continuous recourse to administrative
detention by the State party under the Crimes Prevention Act (1954), which allows for
detention without charge and raises issues about the separation of powers between the
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