The half-brother of King of Jordan Abdullah II said Saturday he has been placed under house arrest and accused the country’s “ruling system” of incompetence and corruption, exposing a rare rift within the ruling monarchy of a close Western ally.
Prince Hamzah’s videotaped statement came after the country’s official news agency reported that two former senior officials and other suspects had been arrested for “security reasons,” even as authorities denied that Hamzah had been detained or placed under house arrest.
Jordanian news sources, especially the country’s official news agency (Petra), reported on Saturday evening a wave of arrests between senior Jordanian officials and the royal family, including the king’s brother, on charges of the coup.
Among the detainees, Petra mentioned only two detainees, al-Sharif Hassan bin Zayd and Bassem Awadullah, who stressed that they had been detained for “security reasons.”
Arab 21 News Agency reported on the incidents, although the media and social media activists published numerous pictures and letters of detainees, all of whom are important security and military figures, in the meantime, Awadhullah and bin Zayd and Prince Hamza bin Al-Hussein, the half-brother of the King of Jordan, was the most prominent.
According to the base, Hassan bin Zayd was previously the special envoy of the King of Jordan in Saudi Arabia. Awadhullah, however, was the head of the Al-Hashimi Kingdom Palace in 2007 and before that, the head of the King of Jordan’s office.
According to the report, the two detainees “have strong ties with Saudi Arabia. “Many in Jordan believe that these two people have Saudi citizenship or passports.”
Local Jordanian news sources also reported that bin Zayd is a Hashemite nobleman based in Saudi Arabia who has invested in the country.
Arabi 21 continued that in recent years, Awadullah has been working as an advisor to “Muhammad bin Salman”, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He was one of the privatization engineers of the Saudi oil company Aramco.
Local Jordanian news sources also reported that bin Zayd is a Hashemite nobleman based in Saudi Arabia who has invested in the country.
Arabi 21 continued that in recent years, Awadullah has been working as an advisor to “Muhammad bin Salman”, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He was one of the privatization engineers of the Saudi oil company Aramco.
According to the website, Awadullah was present with Bin Salman at the recent annual investment conference called The Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. After leaving Jordan, Awadullah went to the UAE and founded Tamuh.
The Washington Post reported that the move followed the discovery of what palace officials described as a complex and widespread conspiracy. A Jordanian official confirmed the arrests, saying the arrests were linked to a “threat to the country’s stability”.
On Sunday morning, the State Department spokesman also said that reports on developments in Jordan were being closely monitored, adding that the King of Jordan was an important partner for Washington and had the full support of the United States.
