Qassem Al-Nasser - Exile and Imprisonment

Exile and Imprisonment

After the Free Officers Movement achieved its goals, the USA and UK felt that their interests in Jordan were affected adversely by this Movement and sought to get rid of its members. Both countries managed to convince King Hussein with the allusion that the Movement is planning to overthrow and to unseat the king by means of a revolution similar to what had happened in Egypt in 1952. Consequently, orders to arrest the members of the Movement were issued in 1957. However, since the members of the Movement were in control of all parts of the Army, they were informed with the arrest orders and part of them managed to leave directly to Syria, from amongst of them were: Qassem Al-Nasser, Mahmoud Al-Mousa, Natheer Rasheed, Issam Al-Jundi, and Kamal Al-Hiari, amongst others. While others were imprisoned in the Al-Jafer prison which is located in the deseart 200 km to the south of the capital Amman, from amongst of them were: Shaher Abu-Shahout, Mahmoud Al-Maaita, Tourki Al-Hindawi, Dhafi Al-Jam’ani, Ahmad Za’rour, Shawkat Al-Sboul, Abdullah Ga’ed, and Jaffar Al-Shami, amongst others. A private military court issued its decision, and Qassem Al-Nasser was convicted and was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment, and since he was away of Jordan, the decree was strengthened to execution. Al-Nasser lived in the exile for more than four years, during this period, his family were prevented from leaving Jordan to visit him in Syria, so he was secretly sneaking to Jordan to visit his parents. In one of these visits, he got arrested in the house of Hajem Al-Hindawi (one of Al-Nasser’s relatives), and sent directly to the prison of the Jordanian Intelligence where he remained under arrest for sixteen months and thirteen days in the same cell with the Palestinian leader Bahjat Abu Gharbieh, and was discharged due to a Royal amnesty issued in 1962.