A former Jordanian queen publicly defended her son, a former Crown Prince, rejecting accusations he had plotted to overthrow the king.

Queen Noor, the widow of King Hussein and mother of Prince Hamzah, spoke out Sunday regarding her son’s arrest and allegations he had been laying the groundwork for a coup aimed at overthrowing King Abdullah II.

In a tweet Sunday, Queen Noor called the allegations “wicked slander”.

“Praying that truth and justice will prevail for all the innocent victims of this wicked slander. God bless and keep them safe.”

On Saturday Prince Hamzah, King Abdullah’s half-brother, was reportedly placed under house arrest, after Jordanian security officials arrested several linked with the alleged plot to overthrow the king.

According to a report that appeared in The Guardian, following Saturday’s attempted coup against King Abdullah II, roads to Hamzah’s palace were blocked with security services patrolling entrances to the capital city of Amman.

Prince Hamzah was removed as heir to the throne in 2004 by King Abdullah II, in what was perceived as a bid by the king to consolidate power within the Hashemite kingdom.

Over the weekend, Prince Hamzah lashed out at the Jordanian regime, saying it had become corrupt and despotic.

Source: Arutz Sheva

Notes:

Jordan has foiled an attempted coup against its King Abdullah II, the Washington Post reported.

Among those arrested is the heir apparent.

According to Jordan’s Petra news site, Hassan bin Zaid and Basem Ibrahim Awadallah are among those arrested. The site also quoted “a well-informed source” that Prince Hamzah bin Al-Hussein, the half-brother of King Abdullah II, has not been detained or placed under house arrest.

On Saturday evening, Jordanian military officials informed their Israeli counterparts that the coup has been contained and “the situation is under control.”

They emphasized that there is no fear for the stability of the region.

Source: Arutz Sheva

Header: Petra, Jordan – Filippo Cesarini. Unsplash