Jordan’s King Abdullah II issued a rare public rebuke of his half-brother Prince Hamzah bin Hussein on Thursday and said that the prince will continue to remain under house arrest after displaying “erratic” behaviour. With the announcement, Abdullah formalised the house arrest, which was meted out as punishment to Hamzah in April last year for allegedly trying to overthrow the King.
Abdullah said that after a year of hoping Hamzah “would realise the error of his ways [and] repent,” he determined that the Prince had “exhausted all opportunities to restore himself on the right path.” “I have come to the disappointing conclusion that he [Hamza] will not change,” Abdullah declared.
#Jordan's King Abdullah II issues lacerating statement against #Hamzah #حمزة restricting #Prince's movement & communication. Some real broadsides here, telling H that "following example of forefathers is not done by emulating their appearance" among others.#الأردن
— Nabih (@nabihbulos) May 19, 2022
The King chastised Hamzah for “living in a state of self-deception” and for seeing himself as the “sole guardian” of Jordan’s Hashemite legacy. Abdullah called Hamzah’s claims of being a victim of a “systematic campaign” by the royal family false and claimed that his half-brother was both “delusional” and “irresponsible.”
Abdullah said that Hamzah’s coup attempt last April was not the beginning of his state of denial. “He chose to stray from the legacy of his family years ago; while he claimed he had accepted my constitutional decision to restore the position of the crown prince to its original constitutional rule, all his actions since have demonstrated otherwise,” the statement said.
This is perhaps the most damaging criticism in King Abdullah's letter. He writes that Prince Hamzah wasn't genuinely interested in fighting corruption or ending Jordan's economic woes but rather focused on maintaining his luxurious lifestyle. https://t.co/MtrJuoQhMz
— Aaron Magid (@AaronMagid) May 19, 2022
In April 2021, Jordanian authorities placed Hamzah under house arrest after uncovering and thwarting a coup plot by Hamzah and his aides to destabilise the monarchy. Officials said that the prince’s actions had put the security and stability of Jordan in jeopardy. Hamzah denied all accusations and said that he was innocent and pledged allegiance to Abdullah.
The King did not make a public announcement of the Prince’s detention and tried to resolve the matter by talking to Hamzah directly. However, the royal has shown no intention of reconciling and last month renounced his royal title, a move that troubled the King. Hamzah has also accused the Jordanian government of being corrupt and has opposed several of its policies.
#Jordan @KingAbdullahII described his former senior aid Basem Awadallah as one who"betrayed him" for his alleged role with prince Hamzah. Awadallah,an American citizen was sentenced to 15 years in prison without due process or real evidence his American lawyers have said.#الأردن
— Ali Younes (@Ali_reports) May 19, 2022
Several reports have also indicated that Hamzah might be disgruntled after he was stripped of his title of Crown Prince by Abdullah in 2004. The move made Abdullah’s son Hussein the successor to the throne, going against his father’s wish of seeing Hamzah as Crown Prince.
“I am fully aware of the challenges facing our nation and the constant need to address shortcomings and gaps. I welcome and seek constructive criticism and dialogue from everyone,” Abdullah said. However, he noted that these challenges “cannot be addressed or overcome through showmanship that aims to exploit our economic woes to spread despair and defeatist discourse,” referring to Hamzah’s actions.
Some truly bizarre and stranger than fiction stuff circulating right now
— Noor Al Hussein (@QueenNoor) May 19, 2022
“I will not allow anyone, no matter who, to put their interests above the nation’s interest, and I will not allow even my brother to disturb the peace of our proud nation,” the monarch proclaimed. Accordingly, he stated that measures will be taken to “restrict the communications, place of residence, and movements of Prince Hamzah”
“We will provide Hamzah with all that he requires to live a comfortable life, but he will not have the space he once abused to offend the nation, its institutions, and his family, nor to undermine Jordan’s stability,” he added.
Responding to the royal statement, Hamzah’s mother Queen Noor, who had condemned the actions against her son last year, tweeted that the King’s remarks were “stranger than fiction” and “truly bizarre.” She even retweeted a post that said Hamzah was innocent and that the King’s message “is nothing but a slander and threat” to the Prince.