AMMAN (Dispatches) – The prosecutor general in Jordan’s capital Amman has banned the publication of any information about an alleged plot said to involve the king’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah, state television said.
Tuesday’s order came after Prince Hamzah, who has been highly critical of the government, pledged loyalty to King Abdullah II late on Monday, two days after he said he had been placed under house arrest.
"I will remain... faithful to the legacy of my ancestors, walking on their path, loyal to their path and their message and to His Majesty,” he said in a signed letter, quoted by the royal palace shortly after he vowed not to obey orders restricting his movement.
"I will always be ready to help and support His Majesty the King and his Crown Prince,” he was quoted as writing.
King Abdullah II removed Prince Hamzah as heir to the throne in 2004.
"In order to keep the security services’ investigation into Prince Hamzah and the others secret, [it is decided] to ban the publication of anything related to this inquiry at this stage,” prosecutor Hassan al-Abdallat said in a statement read on state television.
Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday that Hamzah and others, who had been under investigation for some time, had liaised with a foreign regime about a plot to "undermine the security” of the kingdom.
He added that a foreign spy agency had contacted Hamzah’s wife on Saturday to organize a plane for the couple to leave Jordan, without elaborating.
Jordan’s Ammon news agency on Sunday cited an "informed source” as saying that a former Mossad officer called Roy Shaposhnik had offered to move the wife of the former crown prince out of the country with their children.
In a video released by Prince Hamzah’s lawyer on Saturday, the prince accused Jordan’s leaders of corruption, apparently hoping to tap into the public’s frustrations.