Dr. Issam Khawaja, the Deputy General Secretary of the Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party (known in Jordan as Wihda Party) was released on Monday, June 16, after being detained by the Jordanian authorities for 11 days.
The party issued a statement shortly after its deputy leader was released, clarifying that he was arrested over a number of “unjust arbitrary charges”, related to a public speech that he gave on behalf of the National Forum for Supporting Resistance and Protecting the Homeland, during a march in Jordan’s capital Amman.
According to the statement, Khawaja had condemned the barbaric Zionist aggression on Gaza in a public speech. He had also reaffirmed the solidarity of Jordanian popular movements and the Jordanian people with Gaza. Moreover, the prominent left Jordanian leader demanded that the Jordanian government end all forms of normalization with Israel.
Wihda Party emphasized that his speech reflects its stance and the stance of other influential national movements, which, they state, is the genuine position of the Jordanian people towards Palestine and their Palestinian brethren.
It is worth noting that the arrest of Dr. Issam Khawaja sparked a large-scale solidarity campaign on the popular and political levels, which involved national political parties, trade unions and civil society institutions. Political parties and media outlets based in Latin America also joined the campaign, which called for his immediate release.
Dr. Issam vows to continue his support for the resistance
For his part, Dr. Issam expressed his gratitude for the solidarity campaigns that demanded his release, during a reception ceremony held at Wihda Party office on Wednesday, June 18.
“Your solidarity shows support not only for one individual, but for an unstoppable political project, process and approach,” he stated.
Dr. Issam also voiced his determination to continue his support for the peoples, and the resistance movements across the West Asia region in their struggle against Israel.
Referring to his political imprisonment, the anti-imperialist political leader added, “We cannot consider it as a sacrifice, either, because the real sacrifice is being made by the Palestinian people in Gaza, the Lebanese people in Lebanon, the people who have been resisting in Yemen, and the Iranian people who are now resisting in Iran. It is the sacrifice made by whoever confronts the Zionist entity.”
Undeterred by his detention, Dr. Issam stated: “I believe that such practices will further consolidate our awareness for upholding our support for the resistance.”
