Jordan foils palace plot to ‘destabilise’ kingdom
Jordan yesterday said it had foiled a plot to "destabilise" the kingdom involving a half-brother of King Abdullah II and arrested at least 16 suspects.
Hamzah bin Hussein -- a former crown prince -- and the others had worked with foreign parties to "undermine the security" of Jordan, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said.
Washington, Gulf allies and the Arab League were quick to stress their support for Abdullah's pro-Western government in Amman, seen as an anchor of stability in the Middle East.
Prince Hamzah, 41, had Saturday released a video message via the BBC in which he accused Jordan's rulers of nepotism and corruption and charged that he had been placed under house arrest.
Safadi said an additional 14 to 16 suspects had been arrested. He said security service had monitored "contacts with foreign parties aiming to destabilise Jordan's security," including an alleged offer to spirit Hamzah's wife out of the country.
Hamzah's mother, Queen Noor, defended her son and the alleged co-conspirators, tweeting that she was "praying that truth and justice will prevail for all the innocent victims of this wicked slander. God bless and keep them safe."
Hamzah is the eldest son of the late King Hussein and Queen Noor. Abdullah had appointed Hamzah crown prince in 1999 in line with Hussein's dying wishes, but in 2004 stripped him of the title and gave it to his own eldest son Hussein.
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