A Jordanian court Monday came upon each a relative of King Abdullah II and his frail prime confidant guilty of sedition and incitement in opposition to the crown, concluding that each men engaged in a conspiracy that exposed a surprising stage of intrigue and estrangement within the royal family.
The 2 men had been accused of forging a “criminal mission” sharp Prince Hamzah, the king’s half of-brother and the frail inheritor to the throne, to spread chaos in opposition to the monarch, per a televised commentary from the defense force mediate presiding over the closed-door trial.
Bassem Awadallah, the frail confidant, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a cousin of the king, every obtained a sentence of 15 years with laborious labor. Prince Hamzah used to be no longer arrested, and Abdullah has said the dispute with him would be resolved within the royal family.
Jordanians had been astonished in April when Hamzah and some of his friends had been alleged to dangle plotted a coup in opposition to Abdullah, who ascended the throne in 1999. The alleged conspiracy deeply rattled the Hashemite kingdom, one among the U.S.’ most considerable allies in the Middle East.
In his remarks, the mediate, Lt. Col. Muwafaq Masaeed, said that Awadallah and bin Zaid had been friends since 2001 and shared an animosity toward the most modern system of rule in Jordan and toward the king himself, and that they disagreed with the “long-established policy of the Jordanian disclose” in its handling of interior and external affairs.
Since June, the court docket drama — dubbed Jordan’s trial of the century — has kept residents in thrall, no matter the truth that its six classes unfolded largely in secret.
Lawyers for Awadallah, who is a U.S. citizen, said the guilty verdict used to be “a foregone conclusion” and alleged that authorities had tortured and threatened him with further injure if he didn’t confess to the alleged crimes. They intend to appeal the verdict.
Subsequent week, King Abdullah is location to change into the first Arab leader to meet President Biden when he visits the White Home.
This story on the beginning regarded in Los Angeles Times.
