AMMAN, 14 April 2006 — Jordanian security forces quelled an uprising yesterday at a prison north of Amman that led to the death of one prisoner and in which two policemen were reportedly taken hostage, officials said.
“The mutiny is over and security forces completely control the prison in Qafqafa,” 60 kilometers from the capital, Nasser Jawdeh said.
One prisoner died en route to hospital after being wounded during the riot, a senior government official said. He added that the cause of death was not immediately known, and an “investigation is underway.”
The man was named as Khaled Fawzi Ali Al-Bashtawi, who was serving an 18-month sentence for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.
Another 30 people — 10 prisoners and 20 policemen — were hurt, but none seriously.
Few details were given on the operation to bring the situation under control, except that the prison was initially surrounded by security forces, then the water and electricity cut off.
A security source said two policemen had been taken hostage, and their fate was still uncertain.
Jawdeh said the unrest began after prisoners resisted being searched for knives or other sharp instruments after officials received reports that some were being kept, adding that some were found.
One of the prisoners, an Islamist named Abdul Shehadeh Hamed Al-Tahawi, used a mobile telephone to ring Al-Jazeera television and say “two members of security” had been taken hostage.
Tahawi, 50, said the act was in retaliation for guards taking “two prisoners” after morning prayers. He named them as Fahed Nouman, under sentence of death for a terrorist bombing near the Iraqi border, and Mohammed Derbas, jailed for attempting to free another prisoner, Azmi Jayussi, on March 1.
Jawdeh refused to comment on the claim by Tahawi, himself jailed in connection with an abortive 2004 conspiracy to attack Jordan’s intelligence headquarters with chemical weapons.
