America's Arab allies crack down on dissidents in wake of US attacks

Since the September 11th attacks in the US, the three Arab governments most closely allied with Washington have cracked down on domestic dissidents, claiming stringent measures are being taken as their contribution to the global campaign against terrorism.

Egyptian authorities plan to put on trial 253 alleged members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad and an off-shoot called "al-Waad", "The Promise", said to be connected with Osama bin Laden, Washington's prime suspect in the terrorist attacks.

Since all were arrested before these events, they are not implicated. They will be the first Islamists to go to court since 1999.

The arrests have created a climate of intimidation in the mosque, the only place where ordinary Egyptians were able to gather freely and discuss political issues.

The authorities, however, regard the mosque as the source of the Islamist "infection" and urge worshippers to disperse quickly after communal prayers, which are led by officially appointed clerics who deliver approved sermons.

In Jordan, the process of democratisation begun by the late King Hussein in 1989 has been reversed. After his son, King Abdullah II, succeeded to the throne in 1999, the intelligence apparatus resumed a central role in the political life of the kingdom. The recent detention of Islamists coincided with the tightening of a ban on demonstrations and the promulgation of a law imposing fines and jail time on newspaper editors found guilty of printing "irresponsible" material or harming national unity.

The Jordan Society for Human Rights demanded the repeal of these measures as well as an undemocratic election law. The newly reshuffled cabinet is expected to curb professional associations allied to the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and increase supervision of private universities.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif ibn Abdel Aziz recently announced security services had carried out an unspecified number of arrests of citizens expressing support for Saudi-born bin Laden. The prince dismissed a ruling by dissident Saudi clerics that Muslims supporting "infidel" campaigns against Muslims should be deemed "infidels". He pointed out that these clerics were few, and said the "error of their ways had been explained to them".