Former crown prince, officials accused of promoting sedition

AMMAN, Jordan — The government of Jordan on Sunday accused former crown prince Hamzeh bin Hussein and several of his associates of cooperating with foreign entities to pursue a long-term plot to destabilize the kingdom, a day after arrests targeted up to 20 high-level officials.

“These were efforts that threatened Jordan’s security and stability, and these efforts were foiled,” Deputy Prime Minister Ayman al-Safadi said.

In a televised news conference, Safadi said extensive investigations carried out by Jordan’s security forces concluded that Hamzeh, the half brother of King Abdullah; Sharif Hasan, a member of the royal family; and Bassem Awadullah, a former senior official in the royal court and special Jordanian representative to the Saudi government, had engaged in activities that amounted to “promoting sedition.”

They included cultivating relationships with members of the Jordanian opposition abroad as well as evidence of a person with foreign ties offering services to Hamzeh’s wife, including the immediate use of a private jet to leave Jordan.

Safadi said Abdullah attempted to resolve the issue through a request by the joint chiefs of staff but Hamzeh refused to cooperate.

The government proposed that the cases be referred to the state’s security courts, though it also announced that Abdullah would first discuss the matter directly with the prince, who has been under house arrest in his Amman palace since Saturday, to deal with the issue “within the framework of the family,” Safadi said.

In a clear message that no dissent or criticism of Abdullah would be tolerated, the head of the Jordanian parliament, Faysal al-Fayez, said earlier Sunday “the king is a red line” and the country would stand against ‘any trembling traitorous hand that aims to mess with out security and stability.”