Jordan hanged six convicted men at dawn on Sunday, ending a de facto pause on the death penalty that had lasted nearly a decade. It was the country’s first mass execution since 2017.
The hangings, carried out after final judicial confirmation and a royal decree, drew an immediate rebuke from Human Rights Watch. The advocacy group urged Amman to renew the undeclared moratorium it had observed since 2017. All six men had been convicted by Jordan’s State Security Court in cases where members of the police or security forces were killed.
Six Hangings in a Single Morning
The six men were executed at dawn on June 21, a Sunday, the government spokesperson, Mohammad al-Momani, said. Al-Momani, Jordan’s communications minister, told the state news agency Petra that the death sentences had become final after confirmation by the Court of Cassation, Cabinet endorsement, and a royal decree.
The rights group’s full report on the six executions said all six cases involved violence in which police or security personnel were killed. Two of the men were convicted in the so-called “Salt Cell” case, named for a 2018 bombing near an annual festival in the town of Fuheis, west of Amman, and follow-up operations the next day in al-Salt. A third was convicted in a December 2022 ambush on a police patrol in the southern town of Maan that killed Colonel Abdulrazzaq al-Dalabeeh, then-deputy director of the Maan Police Directorate. The remaining three were convicted in drug trafficking cases that turned violent during anti-narcotics operations, al-Momani said.
The August 10, 2018 attack on a joint security patrol detonated a bomb near an annual festival in Fuheis, killing two members of the gendarmerie forces and wounding six others, according to the government account cited by Human Rights Watch. The next day, in follow-up operations in al-Salt, four additional security personnel were killed. A 2023 Jordan Times report said the State Security Court had sentenced three Salt Cell members to death on February 22, 2023.
- Mahmoud Nayef Musa – convicted in the Salt Cell case linked to the 2018 Fuheis bombing.
- Anwar Adel Saleh – convicted in the same Salt Cell case.
- Ibrahim Mansour – convicted in the December 2022 ambush in Maan that killed Colonel Abdulrazzaq al-Dalabeeh.
- An unnamed man – convicted in a 2014 drug trafficking case that turned violent during an anti-narcotics operation.
- An unnamed man – convicted in a 2017 drug trafficking case that turned violent during an anti-narcotics operation.
- An unnamed man – convicted in a 2018 drug trafficking case in which a police officer was killed in a raid.
The Cases That Put Them on Death Row
Mahmoud Nayef Musa and Anwar Adel Saleh were members of a cell that detonated a bomb near a joint security patrol during an annual festival in Fuheis on August 10, 2018, Human Rights Watch said, citing the government account. The attack killed two members of the gendarmerie forces and wounded six others.
The next day, during follow-up operations to detain the bombing suspects in the nearby town of al-Salt, four additional security personnel were killed. The National reported that the Salt Cell case “killed six security personnel” in total. The State Security Court, a military institution that includes both military and civilian judges, sentenced three Salt Cell members to death on February 22, 2023, according to a Jordan Times report cited by Human Rights Watch. The third Salt Cell member executed on Sunday has not been publicly identified by the authorities.
Ibrahim Mansour was convicted for his role in a December 2022 ambush on a police patrol in Maan that killed Colonel Abdulrazzaq al-Dalabeeh, the then-deputy director of the Maan Police Directorate. Mansour was tried in the same military court. The remaining three men were also tried before the State Security Court, in cases that al-Momani said involved the killing of law enforcement officers during anti-narcotics operations, according to the Anadolu Agency.
Two of those three were convicted in operations dating to 2014 and 2017, the Anadolu Agency reported, and the third in a 2018 case in which a police officer was killed in a raid. The executions were supervised by the Attorney General of the State Security Court, al-Momani said. Of the six men hanged on Sunday, two were convicted on terrorism-related charges, three on drug trafficking offences, and one for the 2022 Maan ambush.
From an Eight-Year Pause to a Sharp Return
Jordan reinstated the death penalty in December 2014 after eight years of unofficial non-use, according to the rights group’s account of the earlier rounds. Two waves of executions followed: the 2014 round of murder convictions, and a March 2017 round dominated by terrorism-related cases from the State Security Court. Since 2017, the hangings have been silent.
The 2014, 2017, and 2026 rounds together are the only uses of the death penalty since the December 2014 reinstatement. The June 2026 batch is the first execution round in nearly a decade, and it draws from a queue that human rights monitors say has been waiting to be tapped.
Human Rights Watch and other groups pressed Amman to formalize the pause. The United Nations General Assembly called on countries in 2012 to establish a moratorium on capital punishment, restrict its use, and reduce the offences for which it can be imposed. That call, the group argues, applies with particular force to a country it has described as among “the most secure and peaceful” in the Middle East.
“Carrying out six executions in a single morning marks a sharp return to a practice Jordan has used only sporadically since reinstating capital punishment 12 years ago.”
The State Security Court Tried Them All
Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a June 23, 2026 statement that the new batch signals a return to a practice Jordan had used only sporadically. All six men were convicted in Jordan’s State Security Court, a military institution that includes both military and civilian judges and whose jurisdiction covers terrorism, drug offences, treason, and espionage cases.
The court’s procedures have drawn sustained criticism from human rights groups. Human Rights Watch opposes the use of such special courts to try national security crimes, arguing they restrict defendants’ rights beyond what international human rights law permits. Jordan’s executions require ratification by the king, under Article 39 of the constitution, after confirmation by the Court of Cassation. “No one disputes that the police and security forces killed in these attacks deserved justice and their families deserved accountability, but the death penalty is an inherently cruel and irreversible punishment,” Coogle said.
A Return That Mirrors a Global Execution Surge
Jordan’s resumption of the death penalty lands against a sharply rising global count. The 2025 global death penalty figures recorded by Amnesty International show at least 2,707 executions in 17 countries in 2025, an increase of 78% from 1,518 in 2024. It is the highest figure the organization has logged since 1981, when it recorded 3,191 executions.
The Middle East and North Africa drove most of the increase, with the region recording at least 2,611 executions in 2025, up from at least 1,442 in 2024. A 2024 spike in global executions had already pointed in the same direction.
Iran alone accounted for at least 2,159 executions in 2025, the highest annual figure Amnesty has ever recorded for the country. Saudi Arabia hit a record of at least 356 executions last year, and the United Arab Emirates resumed executions for the first time since 2021. A parallel push to expand capital punishment has also been moving in the region’s legislatures.
- 2,707 executions recorded globally in 2025 (Amnesty International)
- 78% increase from 2024 (Amnesty International)
- 2,611 executions in the Middle East and North Africa in 2025 (Amnesty International)
- 2,159 executions in Iran in 2025 (Amnesty International)
- 113 countries have fully abolished the death penalty (Amnesty International)
A Death Row of 276 People
Jordan’s National Center for Human Rights, the country’s official human rights body, reported 276 people under death sentence at the end of 2024. That figure was down from 284 in 2023, and the NCHR said the State Security Court issued no new death sentences from 2022 through 2024. Al-Momani said the June 21 executions were carried out after the death sentences became final.
New death sentences from the Grand Criminal Court fell from 25 in 2023 to 13 in 2024, the NCHR said. The NCHR’s 2025 report said the State Security Court issued no new death sentences from 2022 through 2024, a claim that a separate 2023 Jordan Times report on the Salt Cell convictions complicates. The June 2026 hangings are the first sign in nearly a decade that the death-row sentences are being carried out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Did Jordan Resume Executions After Nine Years?
The government framed the executions as the final step in a long judicial process, with the death sentences becoming final only after the Court of Cassation, Cabinet, and a royal decree. Spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani said the executions were carried out at dawn on Sunday “after all constitutional and legal procedures had been completed.” Human Rights Watch argues the decision is a sharp break from the de facto moratorium, not its natural end.
What Is Jordan’s State Security Court?
The State Security Court is the military tribunal that convicted all six men executed on Sunday. It is staffed by both military and civilian judges and has jurisdiction over national security crimes, including terrorism, drug trafficking, treason, and espionage. Human Rights Watch has long opposed such special courts, arguing they fall short of international fair-trial standards for civilian defendants.
How Many People Are on Death Row in Jordan?
Jordan’s National Center for Human Rights put the death-row population at 276 people at the end of 2024, down from 284 a year earlier. The NCHR’s 2025 annual report said the Grand Criminal Court issued 13 new death sentences in 2024, fewer than half the 25 it issued in 2023, and that the State Security Court issued no new death sentences from 2022 through 2024.
What Does Human Rights Watch Want Jordan to Do?
Human Rights Watch is calling on Amman to renew its de facto moratorium on capital punishment. Adam Coogle, the group’s deputy Middle East director, said in a June 23, 2026 statement that Jordan “should lead the region by example on rights and protection.” HRW is also asking Jordan to restrict the State Security Court’s jurisdiction over civilians as a step toward abolishing the court.
How Does Jordan’s Move Fit With the Global Execution Trend?
Amnesty International’s 2025 reporting placed global executions at 2,707 across 17 countries, up 78% from 2024 and the highest total since 1981. The Middle East and North Africa accounted for the bulk of the rise, with at least 2,611 executions in the region, including at least 2,159 in Iran alone. Jordan’s six executions are a small fraction of that regional total but a sharp break from its own near-decade pause.
