Jordanian court sentences two former officials over sedition plot
Two men, one an ex-chief of the royal court, the other a former diplomat, had pleaded not guilty
A Jordanian court yesterday sentenced two former officials to 15 years in jail over a plot to undermine the monarchy.
Bassem Awadallah, who once served as a top aide to King Abdullah II, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid were found guilty of sedition and incitement charges.
They were accused of conspiring with the king’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein.
“The two defendants held views that are against the political system and the monarchy and sought to create chaos and sedition in Jordanian society,” the military court judge said.
The court backed the validity of evidence presented by the prosecution and which was based on intercepted internet messages.
Awadallah, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin from outside the traditional palace entourage, allegedly advised Prince Hamzah on critical tweets intended to further his ambitions.
Authorities say the messages are irrefutable evidence of how the prince sought to exploit popular anger against the state.
They say the men prodded Prince Hamzah to agitate disgruntled members of powerful tribes that traditionally support the monarchy.
Bin Zaid was also found guilty of drug use and possession, local media reported.
Awadallah, wearing a blue prison uniform, was escorted to court in handcuffs by several members of an elite anti-terrorism squad, a leaked video posted on social media showed.
The two men were arrested in
April. Prince Hamzah was also implicated, but he was not arrested.
He denied the allegations in April after he was placed under house arrest, saying he was being silenced for speaking out against corruption and poor government.
The royal family later said it had resolved the dispute with the prince.
A one-time senior aide to Jordan’s King Abdullah II and a former diplomat were found guilty of sedition and jailed for 15 years yesterday.
Government officials said they plotted to undermine Jordan’s stability.
Bassem Awadallah, former chief of the royal court and an adviser to the king, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a former envoy to Saudi Arabia, were convicted of “incitement against the ruling system” and “acts that could threaten society and create sedition”, the State Security Court heard.
The men and 16 others were arrested in April and accused of working with foreign powers to undermine King Abdullah and the stability of Jordan.
Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the king’s half-brother, was implicated but not arrested.
Awadallah and bin Zaid were given 15-year sentences. Awadallah was also given hard labour.
Bin Zaid was also found guilty of drug use and possession, Jordan’s Al Mamlaka TV network reported.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of sedition and incitement.
Awadallah’s lawyer said he would appeal against the verdict before the Court of Cassation.
Security court hearings in Jordan are closed to the media.
The authorities said the pair were issued with written accusations related to fomenting instability.
Journalists outside the court in Amman were shown short videos of the ruling being issued.
The two men, in pale-blue prison uniforms, were escorted into the court by security staff. The trial began on June 21. Awadallah and bin Zaid faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
The hashtag “Awadallah the traitor” circulated on social media in Arabic on the morning the trial began.
Prince Hamzah, the crown prince until 2004, was implicated in the plot but the royal family said it resolved the matter internally.
The public rift within the monarchy was patched up when King Abdullah’s uncle, Prince Hassan bin Talal, urged Prince Hamzah to cease communication with alleged conspirators, stop making statements that harmed the nation and restate his loyalty to the kingdom.
Prince Hamzah had released videos accusing the government of corruption and of trying to silence him.
Days after Prince Hassan resolved the dispute, King Abdullah and Prince Hamzah appeared alongside each other at an event to mark Jordan’s centenary.
King Abdullah appointed Prince Hamzah as crown prince in 1999, at the request of his late father. But the king removed him from the post in 2004, later making his son, Prince Hussein, next in line to the throne.
The court rejected a defence request to summon Prince Hamzah and two other members of the royal family, along with Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, as witnesses, calling it “unproductive”.
US-educated Awadallah was long considered a contentious figure in Jordan, having served as finance and planning minister before becoming the royal court chief in 2007.
He had pushed for economic reform before he resigned in 2008 and had been accused of interfering in sensitive political and economic matters.