By Hani Hazaimeh, JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN – Families of Jordanian prisoners in Syria, journalists and activists said they will launch a campaign to pressure the government to address Syrian authorities in hopes to uncover the fate of an estimated 253 Jordanians thought to be in Syrian jails, a statement issued by the Arab Organisation for Human Rights said on Sunday.

The organisers said they plan to set up a tent in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, and call on the Syrian regime to release the Jordanian prisoners and ensure their safety.

“The campaign was decided due to the authorities’ failure to act vigorously and follow up on the fate of Jordanian citizens abroad, especially in Syria, where the local authorities are holding scores of Jordanian citizens, identified only by numbers, not by their names, in order to conceal information,” Abdul Karim Shraideh, head of the rights organisation told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

Shraideh, also a spokesperson for the campaign and chairman of the National Jordanian Detainees Abroad Committee, said the majority of Jordanian prisoners in Syria are believed to be missing as no information has been leaked on their whereabouts.

He added that the Syrian authorities have so far ignored all calls by human rights organisations to give information on the condition of Jordanian prisoners in Syrian jails. READ MORE