Jordanian authorities confiscated the passport of an Australian citizen who is a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Ismail al-Wahwah's passport was confiscated on Thursday when he arrived at the airport in Amman. He had been in Saudi Arabia and had returned to Jordan to visit family before returning to Australia. He was not arrested but is not able to leave the country. Hizb ut-Tahrir's Australian spokesman criticised the confiscation in a statement this afternoon and alleged Jordan's spy agency was involved. He said, "The corrupt and illegitimate ruling systems, which represent neither Islam nor Muslims, need to be uprooted entirely and replaced with the system of Islam which safeguards the rights and dignity of all citizens."
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "We are aware of media reports that an Australian has had his passport confiscated upon arrival in Jordan last week. The Australian embassy in Amman has not received any requests for assistance."
It is not the first time Sheik al-Wahwah has encountered such problems. In 2007 he was one of a number of Hizb ut-Tahrir members denied entry to Indonesia after landing in Jakarta. They had been planning to address an international Hizb ut-Tahrir conference, which was attended by as many as 100,000 supporters.