The Jordanian government has accused King Abdullah’s half-brother Prince Hamzah bin Hussein of liaising with foreign parties over a conspiracy to destabilize the country.
Ayman Safadi, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, told a news conference that authorities had intercepted communications between Prince Hamzah, a former crown prince, and foreign parties.
“These were efforts that threatened the security and stability of Jordan, and these efforts were thwarted,” Safadi said. The security services requested that those involved in the alleged conspiracy be referred to the state security court, he added.
Safadi spoke a day after Prince Hamzah was placed under house arrest in a rare public clash between top members of the long-reigning family.
The unprecedented incident has raised concerns about stability in a country considered a major Western ally in an unstable region, and an outpouring of support for the king.
In a video recording of house arrest, the prince accuses the country’s leadership of corruption and incompetence.
Safadi said intelligence agents had been observing the plotters for some time and had expressed concern about the king. He said the prince was asked to stop “all these activities and movements that threaten Jordan and its stability”, but he refused.
Safadi did not identify the foreign countries involved in the plot. But he said a longtime senior official who did business in several Arab Gulf states, Bassem Awadallah, was planning to leave the country. He also said Awadallah had tried to secure a place for Prince Hamzah to flee.
The US, Saudi Arabia and Arab countries in the Middle East have issued strong statements in favor of King Abdullah.
The rapid support has highlighted Jordan’s strategic importance as an island of relative stability in the turbulent region. While the harsh criticism of a popular member of the ruling family may support growing complaints about the weak government of the kingdom, the king’s harsh response also illustrates the limits against which he will accept the public disagreement.
Early on Sunday, Prince Hamzah’s mother, Queen Noor, expressed sympathy with ‘innocent victims’.
‘To pray that truth and justice will apply to all the innocent victims of this wicked blasphemy. God bless and preserve them, ”she tweeted.
Prince Hamzah was deprived of the crown prince title by King Abdullah in 2004, five years after the death of their father, the late King Hussein. The prince is a popular figure in Jordan, who is generally seen as pious and modest.