Amman

- With the issuance of the rulings of the Military State Security Court, regarding the rights of the defendants, the former head of the royal court, Bassem Awadallah, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, in what is known in Jordan as the “sedition case,” the case will be concluded in its legal aspect.

But the issue in its political aspect, according to analysts, is still open and its chapters have not yet developed, especially as it shocked the Jordanian society when its details were announced last April, and many questions remained open to which Jordanians did not find satisfactory answers.

Standing behind bars and in a blue prison uniform, Awadallah made the Jordanian public aware of the reality of accountability for the economic approach that he followed during his years of tenure, whether in the Ministry of Planning, Finance or the presidency of the Royal Hashemite Court.

This morning, the Military State Security Court sentenced the defendants, Awadallah and Bin Zaid, to 15 years in prison with temporary work, after it was proven that what they had done was a "criminal project, fulfilling the internal desires of the defendants, and targeting the existing regime, and the data of the case proved the court's conviction of the guilt."

Discrimination is an additional guarantee

Former Minister of Justice Bassam al-Talhouni told Al-Jazeera Net that the rulings, which were issued by the Military State Security Court today, came after it was proven by the data and evidence presented to it by the Public Prosecution that it was involved in the crime, the acts and the charges assigned, and these acts are considered felony crimes, and the sentence in them is up to 20 years However, the court took the sentence for 15 years, which is less than expected.

He added that the defendants' attorneys have the right to appeal the verdicts before the Court of Cassation, which is independent and considers the evidence and evidence on which the court relied in its judgment as a trial court, within 30 days from the time the appeal was submitted by the defendants' attorneys.

The Court of Cassation is considered an additional guarantee for the defendants before the State Security Court, and the agents have the right to challenge the court’s rulings by submitting appeals that include evidence and evidence that contradict the rulings issued against those concerned. The Court of Cassation considers these appeals and the evidence of the agents, and then takes its decision, either rescinding the court’s ruling or approving it.

Jordan State Security Court (Anatolia)

The case is not closed

Politically, political analyst and writer Lamis Andoni believes that the file of the sedition case in Jordan did not end with these rulings on these two defendants, because the case was originally a dispute between King Abdullah II and his half-brother Prince Hamza bin Al Hussein, and this dispute has not yet developed.

She added - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that the sentences issued to the accused constitute an implicit condemnation of Prince Hamzah, who was implicated in the indictment of the case, which is a major part of the incitement process that took place against the regime, and some in decision-making centers believe that the prince's paper was popularly burned, and it will not He has no future admission.

Andoni questioned the evidence and evidence that the Special Military State Security Court relied on in its rulings, and continued, "We know that Bassem Awadallah is a citizen of the United States, and if a defense attorney files a case before the American courts, he can win it...".

She added, "Therefore, it was remarkable the speed of the trial sessions, which we are not accustomed to in state security trials, and this is due to the fact that there is a decision by the palace to quickly end this case file before King Abdullah meets with US President Joe Biden, and the staff of the US administration next week."

According to Andoni, what is required of decision-makers today to get out of the crises facing the Kingdom is "real tangible reform, stopping security interference in various parts of the state, an economic approach that comes out of dependence on the Zionist entity and the American administration, and a real change in the approach to governance."

The ruling on #Basem_Awad_Allah and his companion in the #sedition case, even if it was supposed to be from a civil court, is an end to the state's privatization approach, for which I hope he and his crew will be held accountable and that those funds and resources will be recovered, and also a great protection for the #Saudi state from evil that God has saved Jordan with.

— Majed Farah Al-Shdifat (@majed_76) July 12, 2021

open questions

In his opinion, political analyst Hussein al-Rawashdeh believes that the file of the “sedition” case has been partially closed in its legal aspect after the State Security Court issued its rulings on the accused, and an important part remains the Court of Cassation, which will consider the entire case, evidence, evidence and appeals.

As for the issue in its political aspect, Al-Rawashdeh sees in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net that there are "a lot of open files and questions that were not answered" since the announcement of the case last April, especially since the announcement of it "formed an earthquake in society" and these files are related to " Awadallah’s personality and the circumstances of what happened, the involvement of Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, Prince Hamzah, and others.” Therefore, the case will remain open, awaiting answers to many questions.

The question today, as Al-Rawashdeh says, is: Is public opinion reassured that this case was resolved and did not leave cracks within Jordanian society? Adding that the case turned the page on Awadallah once and for all, and he will not return to a political role in the future, and his trial and his standing behind bars reassured the general mood of Jordanians after wide popular demands to try him on the economic approach he followed with privatization during his tenure in positions of responsibility over the past years.