"Sedition" against the king in Jordan: 15 years in prison for two former officials
General view of the State Security Court in Amman.
It is a military tribunal whose magistrates are partly civilians (Image illustration).
REUTERS - MUATH FREIJ
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
A Jordanian court on Monday, July 12, sentenced to 15 years in prison two former senior officials accused of wanting to overthrow King Abdullah II for the benefit of his half-brother, Prince Hamza.
An unprecedented crisis that shook the Hashemite kingdom in April.
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The main protagonist in this case,
Prince Hamza
was not tried during this trial which was interested in the cases of Bassem Awadallah, former head of the royal office, and Cherif Hassan ben Zaid.
Accused of having taken part in the conspiracy, of having "
worked against the safety and security of Jordanian society
" and "
of inciting sedition
", the two men had pleaded not guilty.
►Also read: Jordan: the two accused of sedition against the king plead not guilty
On Monday July 12, the State Security Court, a military court whose magistrates are partly civilians, announced that it had sentenced them to 15 years in prison.
They were found guilty of "
inciting [to act] against the political regime of the kingdom
", "
acts likely to endanger the safety and security of society and sedition
".
They could face up to 20 years in prison.
Bassem Awadallah and Cherif Hassan ben Zaid are closely linked to the Saudi kingdom: the first holds the nationality and the second was a time special envoy of the Jordanian king.
A neighboring regional power, Saudi Arabia had firmly denied being involved in this unprecedented crisis and had expressed its “
total
”
support
for the king.
Closed trial
According to the 13-page indictment, Prince Hamza, 41, "
was determined to fulfill his personal ambition to rule, in violation of Hashemite customs and the Constitution
."
To do this, he would have sought help from Saudi Arabia, according to the same source.
Appointed Crown Prince in 1999 but dismissed from his post in 2004 by King Abdullah who appointed his own son in his place, Hamza accused the authorities of his country of "
corruption
" and "
incompetence
" in a video published by the BBC April 3.
He then claimed to have been placed under house arrest for his alleged participation in a "
conspiracy
", however denying this accusation.
The government announced the next day the arrest of 18 people involved in this attempt to "
undermine the security and stability of Jordan
".
Sixteen of them have since been released.
Prince Hamza will not
stand
trial, his case having been resolved within the royal family after he pledged allegiance to the king and promised to "
remain loyal to him
".
The trial of the two accused was held behind closed doors in the capital Amman.
The court rejected a request by defense lawyers to summon three princes in particular, as well as Prime Minister Bicher al-Khasawneh and Foreign Minister Aymane Safadi as witnesses.
A “
non-productive
”
request
, according to the Court.
(With
AFP)
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Jordan: the two accused of sedition against the king plead not guilty