Amman
Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said Sunday that the country’s former crown prince, Prince Hamza, had been liaising with foreign parties over a plot to destabilize the country and had been monitored for some time.
The authorities intercepted communications between Prince Hamza and foreign parties over the timing of steps to undermine Jordan’s security, Safadi said at a news conference.
Evidence showed Prince Hamza had been communicating with outside entities, the so-called Jordanian opposition, and had recorded two videos in Arabic and English in an “incitement attempt,” Safadi added.
He also said the wife of Prince Hamza had also made contact with a representative of a foreign country to secure escape.
He added Jordanian intelligence had intercepted certain communications at what he called the “zero hour,” adding that “it was clear they had moved from design and planning into action,” ?
He said some 14-16 people are under arrest in addition to senior officials whose arrest had already been announced.
Safadi confirmed that the security efforts to foil the attempt had been fully Jordanian and that all suspicious activities were now under full control.
The security services have asked for those involved in the plot to be referred to the state security court, he said.
Meanwhile, a top former Jordanian royal aide was among several arrested Saturday as the army cautioned a half-brother of King Abdullah II against damaging the country’s security.
Videos posted online showed a heavy police deployment in the Dabouq area near the royal palaces as the Washington Post said Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, who is also a former crown prince, was “placed under restriction” as part of a probe into an alleged plot to unseat the king.
“The move followed the discovery of what palace officials described as a complex and far-reaching plot,” it said, quoting a senior Middle East intelligence official.
Hamzah is the eldest son of late King Hussein and his American wife Queen Noor.
He has good relations officially with Abdullah and is a popular figure close to tribal leaders.—Agencies
