Jordan’s Prince Hamzah, who is accused of conspiring against his half-brother King Abdullah II, has taken a defiant stance, stating that he would not follow orders limiting his travel.
The government has charged Hamzah with participating in a seditious plot to “destabilize the kingdom’s stability,” put him under house arrest, and detained at least 16 others.
However, Hamzah, 41, who claims he has been ordered to remain in his Amman palace, has vowed to defy orders restricting his freedom of movement.
“I don’t want to make moves and escalate now, but of course I’m not going to obey when they say you can’t go out, you can’t tweet, you can’t communicate with people, you’re only allowed to see your family,” he said in an audio recording posted on Twitter late Sunday.
Hamzah, a former crown prince who was stripped of his title in 2004 by Abdullah, has been a vocal opponent of the monarchy, accusing it of corruption, nepotism, and authoritarian rule.
He denied being involved in a plot in a video sent to the BBC on Saturday, and said he had been put under house arrest by Jordan’s most senior military official, General Youssef Huneiti.
In the latest recording, Hamzah said that: “When the head of the joint chiefs of staff comes and tells you this, it’s a bit … I think it’s a bit unacceptable”.
Jordan, which is generally seen as a bulwark of stability in the Middle East, has revealed a schism as a result of the palace chaos.
In the wake of news of a foiled coup attempt, Washington and major Gulf powers quickly pledged their support for King Abdullah and all measures taken to ensure stability.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
