AMMAN, 14 December 2006 — Visiting Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said yesterday that he had agreed with his Jordanian counterpart Eid Al-Fayez on the setting up of higher committee for the extradition of people wanted by the Iraqi government. “The talks have so far produced the formation of a higher security committee for the extradition of those wanted by the Iraqi government,” Bolani told reporters after the morning session of security cooperation talks that started earlier in the day between the two countries.

“The discussions so far focused on six files, including means of confronting terrorism to which the region is exposed and the extradition of wanted elements,” he said. According to unofficial statistics, more than 800,000 Iraqis are currently living in Jordan, including two daughters of the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, former officials and members of the dissolved Baath party as well as tribal leaders and prominent members of the Sunni community.

Bolani said that he had made it clear to the Jordanian side that Baghdad “will not allow any political activity by opposition elements” either in Jordan or any other country. “The Iraqi political system permits the existence of opposition at home and we are ready to hear the voices of the opposition, but those opposed to the government should not exploit foreign capitals and cities for promoting their political programs,” he added.

Responding to reporters’ question, the Iraqi interior minister said that his government was bent on “seriously and vigorously dealing with militias through the adoption of certain legal and security measures”.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s state security court yesterday confirmed jail sentences against seven Jordanians accused of recruiting militants to fight US forces in Iraq after an appeals court approved them. The suspects were handed out reduced jail sentences in March and their lawyers appealed the verdict but the appeals court backed the decisions taken by the military tribunal.

In March, alleged ringleader Ziad Horani and co-defendant Khaled Sarqush received each five years of hard labor. Their sentences were reduced to four years to allow them to “improve themselves.” Four others were sentenced each to five years, with their terms reduced to three years for the same reason. The final defendant saw his sentence reduced to 20 months from three years and four months.

The suspects were indicted in July 2005 for “carrying out an activity not approved by the government, which jeopardized Jordan’s relations with another country,” namely neighboring Iraq, court papers said. Defense lawyers initially demanded that former Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher testify as to whether the suspects had actually done anything to harm ties with Iraq, but finally dropped the demand.

The suspects were specifically accused of recruiting militants in Jordan and then sending them to neighboring Syria to receive military training and then eventually infiltrate across the borders to Iraq. One of the recruits was identified as Raed Mansur Al-Banna, who was allegedly involved in a suicide bombing that killed 118 people in the Iraqi Shiite city of Hilla in February 2005.

Ties between Jordan and Iraq were strained following Banna’s alleged involvement in the attack and the incident sparked widespread demonstrations against Jordan. Jordan and Iraq recalled senior diplomats following the incident before eventually patching up relations.

Meanwhile, three Jordanians accused of plotting terror attacks in Jordan on behalf of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas pleaded innocent yesterday at the start of their trial. They face the death penalty on charges of “conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts” as well as “illegal possession of explosives and weapons.” The tribunal also dismissed arguments by defense lawyers that the trial was political and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the state security court. The presiding judge backed the state prosecutor, who insisted the case was related to state security and therefore should be heard by the military tribunal.

The suspects were arrested in April and May as part of a sweep that netted 20 people. On May 11, they confessed on state television that they had plotted to kill senior officials in Jordan’s intelligence services. At the time, Ayman Naji Hamadallah, a 34-year-old identified as the plot’s mastermind, spoke of his links to Hamas and said he had staked out the home of an intelligence officer who was to be targeted.