SOURCE: BBC – The former crown prince of Jordan has said he will defy government orders to stop communicating with the outside world and remain indoors.
Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, 41, claimed to have been placed under house arrest on Saturday in videos given to the BBC.
He was accused of plotting with “foreign entities” to destabilise the kingdom.
The former heir to the throne denies conspiracy, but he has accused Jordan’s leaders of corruption and incompetence.
On Sunday, Jordan’s opposition released a recording in which a defiant Prince Hamzah said he would not obey orders from the authorities.
“I don’t want to make moves and escalate now,” he said in the audio recording posted on Twitter.
“I think it’s a bit unacceptable,” he added.
Prince Hamzah is the half-brother of King Abdullah, and the public rift between the pair is unprecedented. Tensions within the royal household, however, have reportedly been present for some time.
Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, but the royals play a major role in public life and King Abdullah has extensive powers. He can appoint governments, approve legislation and dissolve parliament.
The country is also a key Western ally, and reports of Prince Hamzah’s detention raised fears that the wider region could be destabilised. However, regional powers and Western allies, including the US and UK, have all voiced support for the king.
On Saturday, Prince Hamzah released two videos to the BBC in which he claimed he had been placed under house arrest.
In the video, Prince Hamzah said a senior official had told him he was not allowed to go out or communicate with people because of criticisms of the government or king voiced at meetings where he had been present.
The apparent arrest is thought to have followed a visit by the prince to tribal leaders, where he is said to have garnered some support.
“I am not responsible for the lack of faith people have in their institutions,” Prince Hamzah said in one of the videos given to the BBC.
On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi told a news conference that the prince had been liaising with foreign parties about destabilising the country and had been monitored for some time.
He accused the prince of seeking to mobilise “clan leaders” against the government, adding that the plot had been “nipped in the bud” at the “zero hour”.
Mr Safadi said officials had tried to discourage the prince rather than take legal action against him, but Prince Hamzah had “dealt with this request negatively”.
But no members of the armed forces were said to be among those detained.
High-level political arrests are rare in Jordan. The country’s powerful intelligence agency, however, has gained extra powers since the pandemic began which has drawn criticism from rights groups.
