Jordanian royal among 20 others detained in alleged “well-organized plot”
Amman (QNN)- Jordanian authorities detained the kingdom’s former crown prince and arrested nearly 20 other people Saturday after what officials called a “threat to the country’s stability”, reported the Washington Post.
Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the oldest son of the late King Hussein and his American-born fourth wife Queen Noor, was placed under restriction at his Amman palace, amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to unseat his older half brother, King Abdullah II, the post cited a senior Middle East intelligence official.
Jordan’s state media denied that Prince Hamza has been detained or placed under restriction.
The arrest campaign came after discovering what palace officials described as a complex and far-reaching plot that included at least one other Jordanian royal as well as tribal leaders and members of the country’s security establishment.
Additional arrests were expected according to the post citing the intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Prince Hamzah served as Jordan’s crown prince for four years before the title was transferred to the current monarch’s eldest son, Hussein.
Among the others arrested was Sharif Hasan, who also is a member of the royal family; and Bassem Awadullah, a former senior official in the Jordan’s Royal Hashemite Court who also has a Saudi nationality, the official said.
