King Abdullah and Queen Rania

JORDAN. KING COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES OF SEVEN MILITANTS

July 29, 2007: Jordan's King Abdullah II commuted the death sentences of seven Islamic militants to 15 years hard labour for instigating violent unrest, the official Petra news agency said.
The militants were part of a group of 108 defendants charged with inciting a wave of violence in November 2002. Six people, including two police officers, were killed in clashes as army and police in the southern city of Maan pursued militant leader Mohammed Ahmed al-Chalabi, also known as Abu Sayyaf.
Jordan's militant court sentenced al-Chalabi and eight others to death in March 2006. Al-Chalabi, already serving a 15-year sentence for plotting terror attacks against US targets in Jordan, was among those whose death sentences was commuted. Abdullah's special pardon came after intervention by activists and lawmakers from Maan to seek lesser sentences for the convicts. (Sources: International Herald Tribune, 29/07/2007