Jordan Bans Media Coverage of King Abdullah’s Half-Brother
Jordan has banned media from publishing any content about the half-brother of King Abdullah after the military placed him under house arrest for allegedly planning to destabilize the country.
The government said it imposed the ban Tuesday on all news outlets and social media platforms after accusing Prince Hamzah of coordinating with people associated with foreign actors to subvert Jordan.
“To safeguard the secrecy of the investigations being undertaken by the security services in relation to His Highness Prince Hamzah bin Hussain and others, Amman's public prosecutor has decided to ban the publication of everything related to the investigations at this stage,” the state news agency reported.
The government has accused the former crown prince, who was removed as heir to the throne in 2004 by King Abdullah, of conspiring to “destabilize the kingdom’s security.”
Hamzah publicly accused Jordan’s leaders of corruption on Saturday but pledged his loyalty to the royal family two days later after speaking with his uncle, Prince Hassan, who served as mediator.
After visiting tribal gatherings in recent weeks at which the government was criticized, the government’s opposition released an audio recording Monday of Prince Hamzah saying he would not comply with any attempts to suppress the media.