AMMAN, Jordan — King Abdullah II of Jordan broke his silence Wednesday night over the unusually public rift with his half brother, Prince Hamzah, justifying the steps he had taken to curb his brother’s contact with the outside world, while asserting that the prince’s “sedition has been nipped in the bud.”In an open letter addressed to the Jordanian people that was read by a newscaster on television, King Abdullah wrote that Prince Hamzah had committed “to put Jordan’s interest, Constitution, and laws above all considerations,” according to an official translation of the letter released by the royal palace. The king added: “Hamzah today is with his family, in his palace, under my care.” The prince had claimed that he was under house arrest. He has not been seen in public since the rift became public this past weekend. On Sunday the Jordanian government accused Prince Hamzah, a former crown prince, of having plotted to undermine the security of the country. Several aides and associates of the prince were arrested and the prince himself was ordered to refrain from making public comments or communicating with people outside the royal family.

Source: International New York Times April 07, 2021 17:15 UTC