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Twenty excellent personalities arrested in Jordan for an alleged “conspiracy” against King Abdallah II. Among these would be, as the Washington Post states, also the monarch’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, but Amman has officially denied this by confirming his participation. A situation whose contours are still not entirely clear from the first information coming from the Hashemite kingdom.
The arrests were motivated by “security reasons” after “careful monitoring” of the latter. The “well-informed” source cited by the Petra agency added that an investigation has been opened to clarify the whole matter defined as a “threat to the stability of the country.” Among the excellent names who ended up under arrest – as confirmed by the government agency – are Sharif Hassan Bin Zaid and Basem Ibrahim Awadallah, two senior officials linked to the Royal Household. The first – the media recalled – was the Jordanian ambassador to Saudi Arabia and also linked to Prince Ali Ben Hussein, the king’s brother. The latter was the long-time confidant of King Abdullah and also Minister of Finance after taking over as head of the Royal Household office. Awadallah, the media stressed, was a driving force behind the economic reforms undertaken in the kingdom and has long faced resistance from the old guard to change. However, the most important name is without a doubt that of Hamzah bin Hussein, regarding whom, however, Petra has denied both the house arrest and the arrest itself. Therefore, it is not yet known in what capacity he was questioned or what his current situation is. However, the Jordanian chief of staff, General Yousef al Huneiti, said that Hamzah was ordered to refrain from traveling and other activities that could be exploited to destabilize the Hashemite kingdom. “Nobody – continued the general – is above the law and the security and stability of Jordan prevail over any consideration”. Hamzah is the son of Queen Noura (American-born), fourth wife of the late King Hussein, and therefore he is the half-brother of Abdallah II, who is the son of Queen Muna (British-born), second wife of the former monarch. Hamzah (born 1980) was appointed Crown Prince by Abdallah in 1999. A position he held until 2004, when Abdallah himself again made his decision. The media recalled Hamzah’s criticism of corruption in Jordan. The Jerusalem Post said that among the 20 arrested were men close to the former crown prince, including the director of his office, Yasser Sulieman al-Majali. The director of the Hamzah Palace, Adnan Abu Hammad, was also arrested. Jordan – which has a peace treaty with Israel – has informed the Jewish state, according to Walla’s website, that “the situation is under control” and that there is no danger to the stability of the Hashemite kingdom due to the wave of arrests made. . today. The message was relayed by official Jordanian sources to their Israeli counterparts.
In a video his lawyer gave to the BBC, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, half brother of King Abdullah of Jordan claims that “he was placed under house arrest this morning” and that he is “not responsible for the collapse of the government, corruption and incompetence that has prevailed in the government for the last 15 to 20 years”. and that is getting worse now. “” We are at a point where – he said – no one is able to speak or express opinions about anything without being intimidated, arrested, harassed and threatened. ”
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