Jordan's King Abdullah says 'sedition is buried' following 'painful' rift with half-brother arrested after criticizing govt

King Abdullah II of Jordan has said that the Arab state is stable after his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, was accused of conspiring with foreign powers to undermine national security and placed under house arrest.

The former crown prince was one of 16 people detained on Saturday over an alleged plot against the royal family, while mobile phone and internet access was cut at his home.

In the monarch's first public comments about the dramatic rift at the heart of the royal family, King Abdullah said on Wednesday that his half-brother had now sworn allegiance to Jordan, its constitution, and its laws.

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A televised statement read out on behalf of the monarch said the “sedition has been buried” and Hamzah is now with his family at his own palace, under the king's protection.

“The challenge of the last few days was not the hardest or the most dangerous to the stability of our nation, but it was the most painful, because those who are party to the sedition were from our own home and from outside it,” the statement said.

The king also spoke of his “pain and anger” over the incident.

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Prince Hamzah, who was stripped of the 'crown prince' title by the monarch in 2004, was arrested on Saturday along with other top officials after allegedly attending tribal meetings where the king was criticized.

Hamzah's lawyer sent a video to the BBC after his arrest, in which he criticized the “nepotism” and “corruption” of the country's general leadership.

The prince has denied that he conspired with foreign actors against Jordan and the royal family.

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