The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) on Wednesday informed the State Security Court (SSC) that appointing a lawyer for Sajida Rishawi, the would-be suicide bomber in the Amman terror attacks, was the court’s jurisdiction. The JBA statement was in response to a request made by the SSC on April 24 asking the association to appoint a lawyer for Rishawi. The JBA referred to Article 208 of the Law on Criminal Procedures, which stipulates that the SSC president or his deputy are entitled to appoint a lawyer for any defendant who is financially incapable of appointing one. “The defendant should have had access to legal representation during the interrogation...,” the JBA said in a statement that was made available to the press on Wednesday.By law, the SSC is authorised to appoint a lawyer for any defendant for whom the charges are punishable by death if they cannot afford a lawyer. During her opening trial on April 24, Rishawi informed the court that she could not afford a lawyer, adding: “I only have God to defend me.”
Rishawi, the first woman to stand trial at the SSC on terror-related charges, is accused of possessing explosives with illicit intent and plotting subversive acts that led to death and destruction and is eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Meanwhile, Rishawi’s trial will resume Monday when the court is expected to appoint a lawyer for the defendant, a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times. “There is no problem about who appoints the lawyer. Both the JBA and the SSC are entitled to appoint a lawyer,” he added.