The half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II says he has been
placed under house arrest and accused the kingdom’s “ruling system”
of corruption, incompetence and harassment.
![image](/2021/04/banner-law.jpg")
Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein’s videotaped statement on Saturday
came after Jordan’s military denied reports of the former crown
prince’s arrest, but said he had been asked to “stop some movements
and activities that are being used to target Jordan’s security and
stability”.
![image](/2021/01/payne-alex.jpg")
The military said the warning to Prince Hamza was part of a
broader, continuing security investigation in which a former
minister, a junior member of the royal family and unnamed others
were detained.
The prince, however, insisted he was not part of any conspiracy
and said in a video passed to the BBC by his lawyer that he “was
not allowed to go out, to communicate with people or to meet with
them”.
Prince Hamzah said he had been informed he was being punished
for taking part in meetings in which the king had been criticised,
though he said he was not accused of joining in the criticism.
People were no longer allowed to criticise the authorities or
express an opinion “without being bullied, harassed or threatened,”
he said, adding that the well being of Jordanians “has been put
second by a ruling system that has decided that its personal
interests, financial interests, that its corruption is more
important than the lives and dignity and future of the 10 million
people who live here”.
Earlier, army chief Yousef Huneiti denied reports the prince had
been arrested but said he was told to “stop activities that are
being exploited to target Jordan’s security and stability”.
He said an investigation is continuing and its results will be
made public “in a transparent and clear form”.
“No one is above the law and Jordan’s security and stability are
above all,” he told the official Petra news agency.
Two people familiar with the situation told the Reuters news
agency that security forces had arrived at the prince’s small
palace and begun an investigation. King Abdullah dismissed Prince
Hamza as heir to the throne in 2004 in a move that consolidated his
power.
Ex-minister, royal family member arrested
Petra had earlier reported that Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of
the royal family, and Bassem Ibrahim Awadallah, a former head of
the royal court, were detained. Awadallah also previously served as
planning minister and finance minister and has private business
interests throughout the Gulf region.
The agency did not provide further details or name the others
who were arrested.
The Washington Post, citing a senior Middle Eastern intelligence
official, said as many as 20 people were arrested. The detentions
were part of an investigation into an alleged plot to unseat King
Abdullah, it said.
A former United States official with knowledge of events in
Jordan told Reuters the plot, which he described as credible and
broad-based but not imminent, did not involve a “physical coup”.
Rather, he said, those involved were planning to push for protests
that would appear to be a “popular uprising with masses on the
street” with tribal support.
Known as the Herak, the tribal figures have in recent weeks
called for protests against corruption in a country hit hard by the
impact of COVID-19 on the economy, pushing unemployment to record
levels and deepening poverty. The authorities had cracked down on
several demonstrations, detaining dozens.
Jordan would investigate whether there was a foreign hand in the
plot, said the former US official.
‘Internal rift’
Dalia Fahmy, associate professor of political science at the
US-based Long Island University, said the developments in Jordan
were “reflective of a domestic internal rift”.
“The statement by the former crown prince about corruption
really is reflective of what’s been happening economically in
Jordan,” Fahmy told Al Jazeera. “When you have a country that’s
hurting economically, there comes a point when opposition within
the government can rise … This is probably not going to go
anywhere. But what the king has to do is lift some of the austerity
measures.”
She added, “Domestically, it’s going to be a tough time for the
king.”
King Abdullah had chosen Hamzah as his crown prince hours after
their father, King Hussein, died of cancer in February 1999, but
stripped the young prince of the title in 2004, saying he had
decided to “free” him “from the constraints of the position of
crown prince in order to give [him] the freedom to work and
undertake any mission or responsibility I entrust [him] with”.
The current crown prince is Abdullah’s oldest son, Prince
Hussein, aged 26.
The king has cultivated close relations with US and other
Western leaders across the years, and Jordan was a key ally in the
war against the ISIL (ISIS) group.
The country – which hosts more than 600,000 Syrian refugees –
borders Israel, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi
Arabia.
The US and several Arab countries voiced support for King
Abdullah on Saturday.
“We are closely following the reports and in touch with
Jordanian officials,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has
our full support.”
The Saudi royal court voiced its “full support” for King
Abdullah and all decisions taken by him to maintain security and
stability, while a spokesman for Egypt’s presidency wrote on
Facebook that Cairo backed the king’s efforts “to maintain the
security and stability of the kingdom against any attempts to
undermine it”.
The United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar,
as well as the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council also
said they stood by King Abdullah.
The half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II says he has been
placed under house arrest and accused the kingdom’s “ruling system”
of corruption, incompetence and harassment.
Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein’s videotaped statement on Saturday
came after Jordan’s military denied reports of the former crown
prince’s arrest, but said he had been asked to “stop some movements
and activities that are being used to target Jordan’s security and
stability”.
The military said the warning to Prince Hamza was part of a
broader, continuing security investigation in which a former
minister, a junior member of the royal family and unnamed others
were detained.
The prince, however, insisted he was not part of any conspiracy
and said in a video passed to the BBC by his lawyer that he “was
not allowed to go out, to communicate with people or to meet with
them”.
Prince Hamzah said he had been informed he was being punished
for taking part in meetings in which the king had been criticised,
though he said he was not accused of joining in the criticism.
People were no longer allowed to criticise the authorities or
express an opinion “without being bullied, harassed or threatened,”
he said, adding that the well being of Jordanians “has been put
second by a ruling system that has decided that its personal
interests, financial interests, that its corruption is more
important than the lives and dignity and future of the 10 million
people who live here”.
Earlier, army chief Yousef Huneiti denied reports the prince had
been arrested but said he was told to “stop activities that are
being exploited to target Jordan’s security and stability”.
He said an investigation is continuing and its results will be
made public “in a transparent and clear form”.
“No one is above the law and Jordan’s security and stability are
above all,” he told the official Petra news agency.
Two people familiar with the situation told the Reuters news
agency that security forces had arrived at the prince’s small
palace and begun an investigation. King Abdullah dismissed Prince
Hamza as heir to the throne in 2004 in a move that consolidated his
power.
Ex-minister, royal family member arrested
Petra had earlier reported that Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of
the royal family, and Bassem Ibrahim Awadallah, a former head of
the royal court, were detained. Awadallah also previously served as
planning minister and finance minister and has private business
interests throughout the Gulf region.
The agency did not provide further details or name the others
who were arrested.
The Washington Post, citing a senior Middle Eastern intelligence
official, said as many as 20 people were arrested. The detentions
were part of an investigation into an alleged plot to unseat King
Abdullah, it said.
A former United States official with knowledge of events in
Jordan told Reuters the plot, which he described as credible and
broad-based but not imminent, did not involve a “physical coup”.
Rather, he said, those involved were planning to push for protests
that would appear to be a “popular uprising with masses on the
street” with tribal support.
Known as the Herak, the tribal figures have in recent weeks
called for protests against corruption in a country hit hard by the
impact of COVID-19 on the economy, pushing unemployment to record
levels and deepening poverty. The authorities had cracked down on
several demonstrations, detaining dozens.
Jordan would investigate whether there was a foreign hand in the
plot, said the former US official.
‘Internal rift’
Dalia Fahmy, associate professor of political science at the
US-based Long Island University, said the developments in Jordan
were “reflective of a domestic internal rift”.
“The statement by the former crown prince about corruption
really is reflective of what’s been happening economically in
Jordan,” Fahmy told Al Jazeera. “When you have a country that’s
hurting economically, there comes a point when opposition within
the government can rise … This is probably not going to go
anywhere. But what the king has to do is lift some of the austerity
measures.”
She added, “Domestically, it’s going to be a tough time for the
king.”
King Abdullah had chosen Hamzah as his crown prince hours after
their father, King Hussein, died of cancer in February 1999, but
stripped the young prince of the title in 2004, saying he had
decided to “free” him “from the constraints of the position of
crown prince in order to give [him] the freedom to work and
undertake any mission or responsibility I entrust [him] with”.
The current crown prince is Abdullah’s oldest son, Prince
Hussein, aged 26.
The king has cultivated close relations with US and other
Western leaders across the years, and Jordan was a key ally in the
war against the ISIL (ISIS) group.
The country – which hosts more than 600,000 Syrian refugees –
borders Israel, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi
Arabia.
The US and several Arab countries voiced support for King
Abdullah on Saturday.
“We are closely following the reports and in touch with
Jordanian officials,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has
our full support.”
The Saudi royal court voiced its “full support” for King
Abdullah and all decisions taken by him to maintain security and
stability, while a spokesman for Egypt’s presidency wrote on
Facebook that Cairo backed the king’s efforts “to maintain the
security and stability of the kingdom against any attempts to
undermine it”.
The United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar,
as well as the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council also
said they stood by King Abdullah.