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Rights group criticizes Jordan over debt imprisonment

Human Rights Watch has highlighted the plight of poor Jordanians imprisoned for failing to pay back loans taken out to meet basic needs.
Jordanian detainees look on through the window of a rehabilitation centre in Zarqa, 30 kilometres east of Amman, on July 11, 2018. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)        (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

A leading human rights organization criticized the Jordanian government on Tuesday for imprisoning people over unpaid debt.

Human Rights Watch said that poor Jordanians sometimes need to turn to informal lenders to cover essential expenses. If they cannot pay their lenders back, they are prosecuted, according to the New York-based organization’s Middle East researcher.

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