AYMAN
SANDUKA

Background and Work

Ayman Sanduka is a professor of mathematics in Jordan and a political activist who has publicly documented state policies toward Israel and Palestine. Since October 2023, he used social media to express support for Gaza and to question Jordanian diplomatic relations with Israel during the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

In October 2023, he published an open letter addressed to the King of Jordan criticizing the country's diplomatic relations with Israel. The letter, posted on Facebook, became the basis for his subsequent detention.

The Arrest

On 18 December 2023, Sanduka was summoned by authorities regarding Facebook posts expressing pro-Palestinian views. Three days later, on 21 December 2023, the prosecutor of the State Security Court detained him over the October 2023 letter to the King.

On 12 February 2024, the State Security Court formally charged him with incitement to oppose the political regime under Article 149 of Jordan's Penal Code. On 24 January 2024, a separate criminal court convicted him in a parallel case and sentenced him to three months in prison for defaming an official body under the Cybercrime Law.

Detention Conditions and Transfers

On 23 January 2024, authorities transferred Sanduka from Marka prison in Amman to Al-Tafilah prison, approximately 300 kilometres from his hometown. The transfer significantly restricted his family's ability to visit him.

According to his lawyer, security forces subjected Sanduka to verbal humiliation during the transfer and restrained him tightly. The remote location of Al-Tafilah prison prolonged the isolation imposed by his detention.

Legal Proceedings

On 7 January 2025, the State Security Court convicted Sanduka and sentenced him to five years in prison over a Facebook post it deemed to constitute incitement. He remained in prison throughout the following months.

On 21 July 2025, the Court of Cassation annulled the conviction, finding that the post did not constitute incitement, and returned the case to the State Security Court for re-sentencing. Rather than releasing him, the State Security Court re-sentenced Sanduka on 15 September 2025 to another five-year prison term.

The repeated prosecution and re-sentencing for the same conduct exemplify the legal uncertainty and procedural irregularity that have characterized his case. The Court of Cassation determined that his post did not meet the legal threshold for incitement, yet he remains convicted and imprisoned.

Pattern of Suppression

Since the October 2023 Israeli offensive in Gaza, Jordanian authorities have used broad provisions of the Cybercrime Law and the Penal Code to prosecute journalists, activists, and academics for online criticism of government policies toward Israel. Fifteen documented cases have followed a similar pattern: arbitrary detention, lack of due process, denial of legal representation, and psychological coercion.

Sanduka's case raises violations of Article 9 and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. His prolonged detention without final legal resolution, the criminalization of peaceful expression, and the repeated prosecution for the same conduct undermine fundamental fair-trial guarantees and the principle of non bis in idem.