“Sedition came from within and outside our only home, and nothing compares to my shock, pain and anger as a brother and as the head of the Hashemite family, and as the leader of this proud people,” King Abdullah said in a written statement. . statement released on Wednesday.
Speaking to speculation about the whereabouts of Prince Hamzah, who is Abdullah’s half-brother, the king said the popular royal family was “in my care with his family, in his palace.”
“Sedition” in the kingdom was now “nipped in the bud,” he also said.
What Prince Hamzah said
Prince Hamzah was the Crown Prince of Jordan for five years after his father, King Hussein, died in 1999. In 2004, King Abdullah stripped him of his title as heir to the throne and later named his then-teenage son Prince Hussein bin Abdullah as crown prince.
In video footage released to the BBC over the weekend, Prince Hamzah denied allegations of a plot against the government, punished the country’s leaders and said he was under house arrest with the internet and telephone lines removed.
But the debacle seemed to end on Monday night when Jordan’s royal court released a document signed by Hamzah pledging allegiance to the king.
“The national interest must prevail above all else, and we must all stand behind His Majesty the King in his efforts to protect Jordan and its national interests and ensure the best for the Jordanian people,” reads the letter with the letterhead from. the prince. am working on it.
Jordanian authorities have also relaxed a media library on Prince Hamzah’s case, allowing social media to re-chat on a topic that has polarized Jordanians.
Jordan is trapped in economic hardship amid growing outrage over alleged government corruption and mismanagement. Young people – who make up the majority of the population – have grown anger at the state of a deteriorating economy exacerbated by the pandemic.
Unemployment and poverty rates have reached record highs. Discontent has driven Jordanians onto the streets, but tolerance for protests has diminished significantly.
CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Caroline Faraj, Hamdi Alkhshali and Zeena Saifi contributed to this report.