Jordanian MP Shoots at Colleague with AK-47 in Parliament

Following are excerpts from a report on a shooting incident in the Jordanian parliament, which aired on the Al-Arabiya network on September 10, 2013. To view a previous incident in the parliament, go to MEMRI TV clip 3481.

Reporter: The unthinkable violated the sanctity of parliament. Shots rang out during a parliamentary session, startling the participants and causing pandemonium.

This time, the firearm spoke loudest in parliament, when MP Talal Al-Sharif opened fire on his colleague Qusai Al-Dmeisi, thus setting a precedent in the history of the Jordanian parliament.

Jordanian King Abdullah II held an urgent meeting with the parliamentary speaker, issuing a royal decree that the incident be discussed in an emergency session. The permanent office of parliament recommended that Al-Sharif be expelled from parliament, and that Al-Dmeisi be suspended for one year.

Jordanian MP Adnan Farajat: I tended my resignation ten minutes after the incident in a letter addressed to the parliamentary speaker, the MPs, and Jordanian society. As a Jordanian MP, I refuse to accept such behavior.

Reporter: Another serious incident of mutual assault among MPs occurred a few days earlier. Not only that, but several months ago, the parliament marked a first when one MP waved a pistol at another, not to mention other incidents of assault, with which the 17th Jordanian parliament has distinguished itself.

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