AMMAN -- The Higher Judicial Council on Tuesday released Sanaa Mehyar, member of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), from custody without bail.
Meanwhile, the Amman Court of First Instance released former deputy Amman mayor Amer Bashir on JD10,000 bail, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
On Monday, Amman Prosecutor General Ashraf Habashneh ordered the detention of Mehyar and Bashir for 14 days pending investigation.
The two are suspected of purchasing two garbage trucks for the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) by referring the tender to a hand-picked vendor.
Mehyar's lawyer, Rateb Nawaiseh, said his client was charged with exploiting public office while she was director of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation in her capacity as a member of the GAM council in late 2007.
Mehyar was selected as a member of the bidding committee at GAM at the time.
Nawaiseh appealed to the Judicial Council to release Mehyar, stressing that the ACC law stipulates that a member can only be detained with the permission of the council, and revoking a member's immunity is not enough to allow his or her detention.
The lawyer said on Tuesday that the Higher Judicial Council's decision set a precedent in the Kingdom's judicial history, as it was the first time its 11 members met to decide on releasing a detainee without bail.
The council had agreed to Attorney General Thaer Odwan's request to revoke Mehyar's immunity to proceed with the investigation of suspected corruption, according to Petra.
Bashir was detained earlier this year as part of an ongoing investigation over alleged violations committed by top officials at GAM.
But the Amman Court of First Instance later released him on JD50,000 bail.
© Jordan Times 2012
