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"We Lost Everything"

Debt Imprisonment in Jordan

by Sara Kayyali ยท 2021

ISBN: 1623138922 9781623138929

Category: Education / General

Page count: 53

"Jordan is one of the few countries in the world that still allows debt imprisonment. Failure to repay even small debts is a crime that carries a penalty of up to 90 days in prison per debt, and up to one year for a bounced check; courts routinely sentence people without even holding a hearing. The law does not make an exception for lack of income, or other factors that impede borrowers' ability to repay, and the debt remains even after serving the sentence. Over a quarter-million Jordanians face complaints of debt delinquency and around 2,630 people, about 16 percent of Jordan's prison population, were locked up for nonpayment of loans and bounced checks in 2019"--Summary.