Jordan to try 2 suspects in coup plot, both close to Saudi Arabia: Media

Jordan is set to try two suspects over an alleged plot to destabilize the Arab country, the state media reported.

The kingdom's State Security Court will try the two suspects who, according to a report by the official Petra news agency on Wednesday, have close ties to neighboring Saudi Arabia.

One of the suspects is Bassem Awadallah, who holds Saudi nationality and is the former chief of the royal court, and the other is Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, who is Jordan’s former special envoy to Saudi Arabia.

“The investigation was completed and the file has been sent to the Attorney General,” the report said, citing an unnamed official source as saying.

Under the Jordanian legal procedure, prosecutors must now draft charges and decide on a date for the trial. 

“The file will be referred to the Public Prosecutor at the State Security Court to carry out the legal requirement of issuing an indictment,” after which “trial sessions” will commence, professor of Constitutional Law, Laith Nasrawin, told state television.

He added that the charges would not “deviate from the crimes of undermining the political regime, as defined by Article 49 of the Penal Code, and... acts that disturb public order and threaten societal security, which is considered a crime of terrorism.”

A number of Jordanian media outlets claimed that Awadallah is close to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Jordan releases 16 people detained for 'sedition': State prosecutor

Jordan’s state prosecutor says Amman has released 16 people detained for alleged sedition at the request of King Abdullah II.

Eighteen individuals, including Awadallah and bin Ziad, were arrested after authorities on April 3 announced that they had foiled a coup attempt to “destabilize security and stability in Jordan” by the suspects, but 16 were released later that month.

While some blame the bid on Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has fervently rejected any involvement in the alleged plot. After the news first broke, it swiftly expressed “its full support” for Jordan “and for the decisions and measures taken by King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein to safeguard security and stability.”

Prince Hamzah, the former crown prince and King Abdullah II’s half-brother was suspected of involvement. Earlier that month, he was warned by the military for his alleged undermining of the “security and stability” in Jordan.

Prince Hamzah, who was sidelined as heir to the throne in 2014, was then accused by Amman of involvement in a conspiracy to “destabilize the kingdom's security.” 

The prince, for his part, had accused the kingdom's ruling system of corruption, incompetence, and harassment in a video message published by the BBC on April 3, when he claimed he had been placed under house arrest.

Jordan's King Abdullah, Prince Hamzah make first joint appearance since ‘plot’ crisis

Jordan’s King Abdullah II and his half brother Prince Hamzah, who is accused of plotting to oust the monarch, make their first joint appearance since a rift shook the country last week.

Prince Hamzah was accused of liaising with people who had contacts with foreign parties in a plot to destabilize Jordan. He had been under investigation for some time.

However, Hamzah pledged loyalty to King Abdullah II after mediation by the royal family, and the king said the purported sedition had been quashed, adding that Hamzah was “under my care” with his family at his palace.

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