Jordan’s Prince Hamzeh ‘under house arrest’, top officials arrested during apparent thwarted coup
- Former Crown Prince Hamzeh bin Hussein issued a video statement saying he was under house arrest and barred from communicating with people
- An unnamed official said Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, and Bassem Awadallah, a prominent official, were also arrested ‘for security reasons’ along with ‘others’
Jordan has arrested a royal family member and asked a former crown prince to cease all activities that could threaten the country’s national stability after putting him under house arrest, a series of rare incidents in the kingdom.
Hasan Bin Zeid, a royal family member, was arrested on security concerns along with former minister Bassem Awadallah and others, according to the state-run Petra news agency. The report did not give further details. The Washington Post reported that as many as 20 people were arrested.
The nation’s army also asked former Crown Prince Hamza Bin Hussein to cease “movements and activities that might be used to target Jordan’s security and stability”, as part of an ongoing investigation, according to Petra news.
Security personnel and armoured vehicles were seen parked outside royal palaces and patrolling the capital’s Dabouq neighbourhood. The Post reported earlier that Hamza, the eldest son of the late King Hussein and his fourth wife Queen Noor, had been placed in house arrest at his palace in Amman.
The report cited a senior Middle East intelligence official briefed on the events as saying the move came amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to unseat his older half-brother, King Abdullah II.
Hamza, in a six-minute video provided to the BBC by his lawyer, said he was “not part of any conspiracy” against Jordan’s government.
