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Jordan's mass execution revives debate on death penalty

The swift execution of 15 men in one day raised controversy in Jordan, and some analysts view this move as a message that the kingdom is actively fighting terrorists.
A general view shows security forces in front of Swaqa prison near Amman February 4, 2015. Jordan hanged two Iraqis on Wednesday, including female militant Sajida al-Rishawi, hours after Islamic State released a video appearing to show captured Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh being burnt alive, a security source and state television said. Rishawi and fellow prisoner Ziyad Karboli were executed in Swaqa prison, a large facility 70 km (45 miles) south of the capital, Amman, just before dawn, a security sou
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Jordan’s execution of 15 men as dawn broke on March 4 in Swaqa prison, south of Amman, has raised questions and concerns among death penalty supporters and opponents alike.

The executions — the first in more than two years — were unprecedented in Jordan’s history both in scale and in speed: Five of the hanged men had only lost their appeals one month earlier. Dubbed the “Irbid terror cell” by local media, the suspected Islamic State (IS) militants had been arrested during a shootout with police in Irbid in March 2016 and were sentenced to death in the final days of December.

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