DUBAI – A rift in the ruling royal family in Jordan erupted in public on Saturday, with the ruling monarch’s younger brother saying he was effectively placed under house arrest and that state media reported that senior officials were being held as part of security investigations .
In a video broadcast on the BBC, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein rejected attempts to silence him and criticized the government of his brother, King Abdullah, a key ally in the US, saying: ‘This country has stalled in corruption, in nepotism and in injustice. ”
The prince – who was removed as crown prince by King Abdullah in 2004, a position standing in line for the throne – said a number of his friends had been arrested and that he had been told not to not to leave home. He said his security details had been removed and that his internet and telephone lines had been cut.
According to two senior Arab envoys in Jordan and another person familiar with the matter, so far more than 20 people have been arrested, mostly close allies of the prince. Jordan’s state-run news agency Petra quoted the head of the country’s military joint chiefs of staff as saying that the people arrested were being held as part of “joint comprehensive investigations conducted by the security forces.”
The Jordanian authorities have told diplomats that they are investigating a conspiracy to destabilize the country abroad. In his video, Prince Hamzah said there was no such conspiracy.