The former crown prince of Jordan abruptly pledges allegiance to his half-brother, the king, after being accused of a coup attempt and put under house arrest - Creak News

real time news...

The former crown prince of Jordan abruptly pledges allegiance to his half-brother, the king, after being accused of a coup attempt and put under house arrest

Share This
FILE - In this April 2, 2001, file photo, Jordan’s King Abdullah II laughs with his half brother Prince Hamzah, right, shortly before the monarch embarked on a tour of the United States. Prince Hamzah said in a recording released Monday, April 5, that he will defy government threats ordering him to stay at home and refrain from public statements following accusations he was behind a plot to destabilize the kingdom. (AP Photo/Yousef Allan, File)
Jordan's King Abdullah II and his half-brother Prince Hamzah in 2001.
  • Jordan accused Prince Hamzah of plotting to overthrow his half-brother, King Abdullah, on Saturday.
  • In a video statement, the prince denied the claim but denounced corruption in the country.
  • On Monday, Prince Hamzah pledged allegiance to the king following mediation.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

The former crown prince of Jordan has pledged allegiance to the king following accusations he was plotting to seize the throne.

On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said the government had "foiled" an attempted coup led by Prince Hamzah amd two officials against his half-brother, King Abdullah II.

In an attempt to ease tensions, Prince Hamzah, 41, took part in a successful mediation with the king's uncle, Prince Hassan, on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

In a letter released by the royal household on Tuesday, Prince Hamzah pledged allegiance to the 59-year-old king.

"In light of the developments of the past two days, I put myself at the disposal of His Majesty the King," the statement said, per the AP.

More than a dozen people were detained over the weekend in connection to the alleged coup, and the 41-year-old former crown prince said he was placed under house arrest.

In a video shared with the BBC, published on Saturday, Prince Hamzah said the Jordanian military had detained him at his home and cut his communications.

He also denied planning to overthrow King Abdullah.

Despite the apparent resolution, the prosecutor general in Amman on Tuesday banned the publication of any details about the allegations around Prince Hamzah until further notice, the Arab News reported.

On Sunday, government officials accused Prince Hamzah of meeting with foreign agents who were working to destabilize Jordan, Reuters reported.

Prince Hamzah was removed as crown prince of Jordan in 2004 and replaced by Prince Hussein, the king's son.

Since then, Prince Hamzah has often criticized the government and royal palace over corruption and bureaucracy.

In the video shared with the BBC, the prince said he was not trying to overthrow the king, but couldn't stay silent.

"No one is able to speak or express opinion on anything without being bullied, arrested, harassed and threatened," he said.

"There is no conspiracy here. Whatever concoction they're attempting to create or whatever narrative that they're attempting to sell, the basic fact is that this is all about human dignity here, freedom from arbitrary government, freedom from invasive security apparatuses and services."

Prince Hamzah said he released the video after the head of Jordan's army threatened him being part of a meeting in which the running of the country was criticized.

"The army chief of staff came to me and issued threats in the name of heads of security agencies," Hamzah said in the video.

"Unfortunately, this country has gone from one that was at the forefront of the region in terms of education and healthcare, in terms of human dignity and freedoms, to one in which even to criticize a small aspect of a policy leads to arrest and abuse by the security services."

Read the original article on Business Insider


from Business Insider https://ift.tt/3uEkP75

No comments:

Post a Comment

Pages