Two dozen men charged with supporting Daesh (the so-called IS) group squeezed into a cage in Jordan's state security court. After brief questioning from a judge, they filed back out, and guards ushered in the next group of accused militants. The court's heavy load is part of a widening domestic crackdown on the extremist group. Hundreds have been sentenced to prison, are awaiting trial or are being held for questioning about links to Daesh. Under toughened anti-terror laws, even liking or sharing the group's propaganda on social media can land someone a prison sentence. Some say the crowded court rooms — along with recent attacks — signal that the country has a more serious problem with home-grown extremism than it has acknowledged in public. "We have an extending of the network of Daesh in Jordan," not just among the poor, but also the middle class, said Mohammed Abu Rumman, an expert on extremists. "It is a minority but it is very dangerous." The extremists underscored their reach last week when they launched a suicide attack from Syria, detonating a car bomb near a Jordanian border post and killing seven soldiers in the deadliest attack in the kingdom in years. The Daesh group's 2014 capture of large parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq sent jitters through Jordan. The US spent millions of dollars to help the kingdom fortify its borders, and Jordan joined the US-led anti-Daesh military coalition. Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani said that extremism is a global problem and that "Jordan is at a level just like any other societies in the world." The challenge is to reach and prosecute extremists and "make sure we have enough awareness in the society against these elements," he said. For the West, any sign of instability in Jordan, a key ally, would be of great concern. This would include rising support for militant Salafism. US-based analyst David Schenker said that while it's difficult to measure militant activity, the recent uptick "points to a threat that is not insignificant." Abu Rumman estimated that there are more than 10,000 militant Salafists in Jordan, most loyal to Daesh, and that about 2,000 of them are fighting in the ranks of Daesh and Al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq. In response to the rise of Daesh, Jordan toughened anti-terror laws, criminalizing social media support for the group. Sharing Daesh material on social media can bring one to five years in prison, and involvement in an actual plot far more. The Jordanian intelligence agency closely monitors social media with an "electronic army," said Abu Rumman. "Anyone they find sympathizing with Daesh, they send him to court," he said. Abdallat said about 300 Jordanians have been sentenced or are on trial, most for social media support. About 300 more are being held for questioning, though the number changes frequently, he said. Most are in their late teens and early 20s. "There is a notable increase in the number of detainees," he said. Court officials would not provide statistics. During a recent session, a judge presided over a courtroom crowded with defense lawyers and family of the accused. In the defendants' cage, the men stood tightly packed. Some hugged new arrivals. Among them were five young men accused of being part of a cell plotting attacks on security installations, a charge their lawyer denied. In recent months, other reports of such alleged plots have emerged, along with actual attacks. In November, a police captain opened fire in an international police training facility, killing two Americans and three others. In June, a gunman killed five Jordanians in an attack on an intelligence agency branch in the Palestinian refugee camp of Baqaa. The government has portrayed the police captain as troubled and clamped a news blackout on the June attack. Abu Rumman said he believes both attackers were inspired by Daesh.
