AMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian court is expected to deliver a verdict on Monday in favor of his half-brother Prince Hamza in a trial for alleged conspiracy to overthrow the country’s king, a defense lawyer said.
Former royal court chief Bassam Avdallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zayed, who was once Riyadh’s special envoy, pleaded not guilty to “incitement against the ruling system” and “acts that could threaten society and can create treason.”
“The state security court has scheduled a hearing for Monday to read out the verdict,” bin Zaid’s lawyer Ala al-Khasawaneh told AFP on Tuesday.
He spoke after a hearing in which a 23-page dossier was presented summarizing the case for defense.
He said the defense team had told the court to “find both of our clients innocent of the charges against them.”
King Abdullah appointed Hamza as Crown Prince in 1999 at the request of his late father, but deposed him in 2004, later placing his son, Prince Hussein, next to the throne.
Officials have said the former crown prince will not stand trial, as his case was settled within the royal family.
Bassem Avdallah, the then director of the office of King Abdullah II of Jordan, attends an Independence Day celebration in Amman, Jordan, on May 25, 2008. (Nadar Dawood/AP)
The court last week rejected a defense request with Prime Minister Bishar al-Khasawane and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to call the three princes as witnesses, calling it “unproductive”.
The charges against Avdallah and bin Zaid were made public on June 13 and they face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of all charges.