Jordanian court refuses to call Prince Hamza as witness in sedition trial
Jordan has experienced its own Game of Thrones conspiracy. Last April the Jordanian authorities arrested around 16 people accused of orchestrating a coup against King Abdullah II. Among those arrested were prominent figures such as Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a royal and former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Bassem Ibrahim Awadala, former head of the royal court, former royal adviser and former Finance Minister. The former crown prince and stepbrother of the king, Hamza bin Hussein, was also arrested on the same charges.
Although the Jordanian authorities initially denied that Hamza was involved in the palace conspiracy, it was the king's half-brother himself who confirmed the information in a six-minute video that his lawyer provided to the BBC. In the video Hamza explained that he was under house arrest and that he was "not allowed to go out, communicate or meet with people because in some meetings where he had been present there had been criticism of the Government or the King".
These events were a revolution in Jordan, which has always conveyed a strong sense of stability in a highly unstable region. This event has also broken the taboo in Jordan on speaking publicly about the royal family and has caused a great commotion in other countries in the region and in the West, which have shown their support for King Abdullah II, a strong ally in the region.
Hamza denied his involvement in the alleged coup and said "I am not responsible for the collapse of governance, corruption and incompetence that has prevailed in our government structure for the last 15 and 20 years and has worsened". The stepbrother of Abdullah II denounced, in the video broadcast by the BBC, the lack of freedom of expression that exists in the country, "no one can speak or express their opinion without being intimidated, arrested, harassed and threatened".
The trial of former royal court chief Bassem Ibrahim Awadala and royal family member Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, arrested on alleged "sedition" charges and accused of "incitement against the regime" began last week behind closed doors. The Jordanian authorities have indicated that the proceedings are secret due to the sensitivity of the case. Finally, the former crown prince and stepbrother of the king, Hamza bin Hussein, has been cleared of charges of leading a plot to destabilise the country, after swearing allegiance to King Abdullah II. The Jordanian Royal Household released a message attributed to Hamza in which the King's stepbrother pledged to abide by Hashemite family rules to resolve the conflict and offered his "support and backing to the king and the crown prince".
However, despite the Jordanian royal family's dismissal of the alleged conspiracy against King Abdullah II, the trial continues to expose a number of quarrels within the Hashemite monarchy. Prince Hamza is once again the subject of controversy as he is among the witnesses Bassem Awadala's defence team may ask to testify, "We will ask 25 witnesses, including Prince Hamza", confirmed Mohamed Afif, Awadala's lawyer. In the end, the Jordanian military court rejected the defence's request for Prince Hamza and others to testify as witnesses.
Mohamed Afif noted that the witness list also included the names of the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the Foreign Minister. According to the indictment, Bassem Awadalah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid are accused of "working against the security of Jordanian society" and "inciting sedition". Both have pleaded not guilty but face prison sentences of up to 30 years.