Tape of army chief’s ‘threat’ to prince emerges as Jordan media gagged

A new audio recording indicates Jordanian authorities tried to silence a former crown prince for meeting with internal critics, but contains no mention of a foreign plot to destabilise the Western-allied monarchy that officials alleged he was involved in.

Jordan slapped a sweeping gag order on all coverage of the dispute involving King Abdullah II’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah, hours after the recording circulated online, indicating authorities are increasingly nervous about how the rare public rift at the highest levels of the royal
family is being perceived.

The recording appears to capture Saturday’s explosive meeting between Hamzah and General Yousef Huneiti, the military chief of staff, who came to the prince’s palace to inform him he was being placed under a form of house arrest. That meeting triggered the most serious political crisis in the kingdom in decades.

In the recording, the army chief says the prince is being punished because of meetings he had with individuals who “started talking more than they should”.

The prince raises his voice in anger, saying he has no right to issue orders to a member of the royal family.

“You come to me and tell me in my house what to do and who to meet with in my country and from my people? Are you threatening me? The bad performance of the state is because of me?” he says.

Neither man mentions the king or a foreign plot.

Jordan, which borders Israel, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, has long been seen as a bastion of stability in a turbulent region.

Reflecting concerns about any sign of instability there, several allies, including the US, have expressed their strong backing for the king.

The pandemic has battered Jordan’s economy, and Hamzah’s unprecedented criticism of the ruling class – without naming the king – could lend support to growing complaints about poor governance and human rights abuses.

Jordanian analyst Amer Sabaileh, speaking before the publication ban was imposed, said the dispute “puts more pressure on the king” to reform the system.

He said many Jordanians are on social media expressing support for Hamzah.

Hamzah, in a video statement, denied being part of any foreign plot and lashed out at authorities for years of corruption and incompetence.

Online Editors