Jordan’s Prince Hamzah, accused of plotting against the kingdom’s “security and stability”, disappeared from the local press on Wednesday following a prosecutor’s order banning coverage of the kingdom’s worst crisis in decades.
Gone are reports of a “wicked plot” aimed at overthrowing King Abdullah II, and in the streets, Jordanians voiced relief.
“When the crisis erupted on Saturday, there was no one in the streets. People were afraid,” said Shady, 41, who owns a clothing store in Amman. “But thank God, it was resolved within the royal palace.”
Amman prosecutor Hassan al-Abdallat on Tuesday banned the publication of any information about the alleged plot said to involve Prince Hamzah, the king’s half-brother, in order to keep the security services’ investigation secret.
The government had accused Prince Hamzah — a former Crown Prince who was sidelined as heir to the throne in 2004 — of involvement in a conspiracy to “destabilise the kingdom’s security” and arrested at least 16 people.
