The former crown prince of Jordan vowed to defy the orders of the federal government and his half brother, King Abdullah II, to cease speaking with the world at the same time as he remained underneath what he described as home arrest in his residence.
“I’m not going to obey when they say you can’t go out, you can’t tweet, you can’t communicate with people,” the previous crown prince, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, stated in an audio message posted to Twitter on Monday by his supporters. It was unclear when it was recorded.
The authorities has accused Prince Hamzah of destabilizing the “security and stability” of Jordan, an important American ally within the Middle East. The Jordanian international minister, Ayman Safadi, recommended on Sunday that the prince had been concerned in a failed palace coup with international backing.
The bitter household feud and public airing of palace intrigue has been a blow to Jordan’s picture as an island of stability in a risky area.
Bordering Syria, Iraq, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the nation performs a pivotal position in regional safety, and Jordan’s allies are watching developments anxiously.
Prince Hamzah’s feedback within the audio message posted Monday recommended that he was not going to be simply silenced.
The oldest son of King Hussein, who died in 1999, and his favourite spouse, the American-born Queen Noor, Prince Hamzah, 41, is a graduate of the Harrow School in Britain and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
He attended Harvard University and has served within the Jordanian armed forces.
King Abdullah, who’s 59 and likewise the product of elite American and British faculties, named Hamzah crown prince in 1999, however stripped him of the title in 2004 and transferred it to his son, Prince Hussein, now 26.
Prince Hamzah appeared to be making an attempt to rebuild his affect in recent times.
In a speech Sunday afternoon, Mr. Safadi, the international minister, instantly accused Prince Hamzah of getting labored with a former finance minister, Bassem Awadallah, and a junior member of the royal household, Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, to goal “the security and stability of the nation.”
Mr. Safadi stated that Prince Hamzah had liaised with Mr. Awadallah all through the course of the day Saturday, accusing him of “incitement and efforts to mobilize citizens against the state in a manner that threatens national security.”
He stated the federal government had intercepted communications between the prince and Mr. Awadallah and introduced the arrest of at the least 14 different folks.
Prince Hamzah fired again, defending himself in videos launched on Saturday.
He denied involvement in any plot in opposition to King Abdullah, although he did condemn the federal government as corrupt, incompetent and authoritarian.
“I am not responsible for the lack of faith people have in their institutions,” he stated in one of the videos obtained by The New York Times.
In the separate audio message posted Monday, the prince stated his safety had been “completely revoked” by the federal government.
“I recorded what he said and I distributed it to my family and people I know outside of Jordan in case something happens,” Prince Hamzah stated. “Now I’m waiting to see what they’re going to do. I don’t want to escalate things now.”
He stated he wouldn’t be intimidated however, for the second, was “waiting to see what will unfold.”
Prince Hamzah’s mom, Queen Noor, has publicly defended her son.
“Praying that truth and justice will prevail for all the innocent victims of this wicked slander,” she wrote in a Twitter message posted on Sunday. “God bless and keep them safe.”
The United States, which views King Abdullah as a important ally in combating terrorism, was fast to voice help for him, as did different allies within the area.
Rana F. Sweis contributed reporting.
