Jordan alleges former crown prince and others 'promoting sedition' with foreign help

The government of Jordan on Sunday alleged that former crown prince Hamzeh bin Hussein and others had engaged with foreign entities in an effort to destabilize the kingdom. 

"These were efforts that threatened Jordan's security and stability and these efforts were foiled," Deputy Prime Minister Ayman al-Safadi said on Sunday, according to the Washington Post.

Parliament head Faysal al-Fayez declared that "the king is a red line" and the nation will oppose "any trembling traitorous hand that aims to mess with out security and stability."

A number of people were arrested on Saturday. Jordan's army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti in a Saturday statement said Hamzeh had not been detained, but had been "asked to stop movements and activities that were being employed to target Jordan’s security and stability," according to the Post, which also quoted the official as saying that "all the procedures were conducted within the framework of the law and after extensive investigations."

But the Post in its article referred to "the apparent house arrest" of Hamzeh, and noted that in a video, Hamzeh indicated that he had been prohibited from communicating with people or utilizing Twitter. The outlet reported that "Hamzeh passed on a video to the BBC in which he said that he was forbidden from communicating with people or using Twitter after being told that he had participated in meetings in which the king was criticized."

"I am not the person responsible for the breakdown in governance, the corruption and for the incompetence that has been prevalent in our governing structure for the last 15 to 20 years and has been getting worse … and I am not responsible for the lack of faith people have in their institutions," Hamzeh reportedly said. "It has reached a point where no one is able to speak or express opinion on anything without being bullied, arrested, harassed and threatened."