Hussein Mjalli

Hussein Mjalli (1937 – 12 October 2014) was a Jordanian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1989 until 1993. He served as President of the Jordanian Bar Association for several terms. After the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, he joined his defence team, while still President of the Jordanian Bar Association. In 2011 he joined the government of Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit as Minister of Justice. He also served as lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Jordan.

Mjalli was involved in the legal defence of Saddam Hussein in 2004. He had been appointed to a 20-member team by Hussein's wife Sajida Talfah. They argued that "given the invasion of Iraq [had] no legal basis, US-led occupation forces [had] no right to change or cancel the Iraqi constitution". Mjalli added that "Iraq, [the] Iraqi people, Iraqi law, and the Iraqi president were hijacked", concluding that "the occupation of Iraq was illegal so ipso facto everything that follows is illegal." Mjalli considered Saddam Hussein to still be the legitimate President of Iraq. Although the group had power of attorney they claimed they were prevented from seeing Hussein by the United States.

In February 2011, Mjalli joined the government of Marouf al-Bakhit as Justice Minister. The cabinet had been appointed in response to the Jordanian protests. Mjalli was a member of the Ba'ath Party, an opposition party in Jordan, and seen as somewhat to the political left. One week after being appointed, Mjalli was embroiled in controversy when protesters assembled outside his office. The protesters demanded the early release of Ahmed Daqamseh, the perpetrator of the Island of Peace massacre. Mjalli joined the protesters, declaring he was participating in his capacity as Daqamseh's defence lawyer, which he had earlier been at the trial. He also declared Daqamseh a hero. The incident caused a disturbance in the relations between Israel and Jordan. Jordan's government dismissed Mjalli's comments as being his personal comments which did not represent the government's stance.

Mjalli died of a heart attack on 12 October 2014, aged 77, and was buried in his hometown of Kitta in Jerash Governorate.