Hussein Mjalli
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Hussein Mjalli (1937 – 12 October 2014) was a Jordanian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
from 1989 until 1993. He served as President of the Jordanian Bar Association for several terms. After the capture of
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, he joined his defence team, while still President of the Jordanian Bar Association. In 2011 he joined the government of Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit as Justice Minister. He resigned the same year.


Career

Mjalli was made Chairman of the Jordanian Bar Association in 1970 and remained in office until 1975. He was President of the Arab Lawyers Bar from 1974 until 1984. He was the first Jordanian to join the
International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA currently has a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associa ...
, and was the first Arab member of the board of the association. He served as President of the Jordanian Bar Association for five terms. He resigned in 2008 when the Jordanian cabinet passed a draft law barring professional organisations from engaging in politics. He also served as lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the
University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. ...
. In 1989 he was elected to the House of Representatives. During his time in office he chaired the Legal Affairs Committee. In 1993 he left the House. In April 1998 Mjalli voiced his displeasure about the ban on press coverage regarding the case of Leith Shubeilat, a former member of parliament and opposition figure, who was charged inciting an illegal demonstration. The case was pending before a state security court when the press ban was imposed. Mjalli made his comments in his capacities as the lawyer of Shubeilat and the President of the Jordanian Bar Association. Mjalli said that the ban had no legal grounds and should be disregarded. He called it an infringement on the public freedoms safeguarded by the constitution, which strengthened the governments suppression of the freedom of the press. Mjalli was involved in the legal defence of
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
in 2004. He had been appointed to a 20-member team by Hussein's wife
Sajida Talfah Sajida Khairallah Talfah ( ar, ساجدة خير الله طلفاح, Sājidah Khayr Allāh Ṭilfāḥ; born c. 1935) is the widow and cousin of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and mother of two sons ( Uday and Qusay) and three daughter ...
. They argued that "given the invasion of Iraq adno legal basis, US-led occupation forces adno right to change or cancel the Iraqi constitution". Mjalli added that "Iraq, heIraqi people, Iraqi law, and the Iraqi president were hijacked", concluding that "the occupation of Iraq was illegal so ipso facto everything that follows is illegal." Mjalli considered Saddam Hussein to still be the legitimate President of Iraq. Although the group had power of attorney they claimed they were prevented from seeing Hussein by the United States. In August 2005 the team of twenty lawyers was replaced by lawyer Khalil al-Duleimi. In February 2011, Mjalli joined the government of Marouf al-Bakhit as Justice Minister. The cabinet had been appointed in response to the Jordanian protests. Mjalli was a member of the Ba'ath Party, an opposition party in Jordan, and seen as somewhat to the political left. One week after being appointed, Mjalli was embroiled in controversy when protesters assembled outside his office. The protesters demanded the early release of Ahmed Daqamseh, the perpetrator of the Island of Peace massacre. Mjalli joined the protesters, declaring he was participating in his capacity as Daqamseh's defence lawyer, which he had earlier been at the trial. He also declared Daqamseh a hero. The incident caused a disturbance in the relations between Israel and Jordan. Jordan's government dismissed Mjalli's comments as being his personal comments which did not represent the government's stance. Mjalli resigned on 26 May 2011 when Khaled Shahin, a businessman who had been convicted of bribery, was released to receive medical treatment abroad. Ibrahim Omoush replaced Mjalli. Mjalli died of a heart attack on 12 October 2014, aged 77, and was buried in his hometown of Kitta in
Jerash Governorate Jerash Governorate ( ar, محافظة جرش) is one of 12 governorates in Jordan. It is located in the northwestern side of the country. The capital of the governorate is the city of Jerash. Jerash Governorate has the smallest area of the 12 ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mjalli, Hussein 1937 births 2014 deaths Members of the House of Representatives (Jordan) Justice ministers of Jordan Members of the Jordanian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party 20th-century Jordanian lawyers University of Jordan faculty 21st-century Jordanian lawyers