Jordan releases 16, keeps two detained over ‘sedition’ plot

Prosecutor frees 16 detained people at the request of the king, but says two key suspects will remain in detention.

Jordan’s prosecutor has released 16 people detained for “sedition” at the request of King Abdullah II, state media said, nearly three weeks after an alleged plot to “destabilise the country” was foiled. However, state prosecutor General Hazem al-Majali said on Thursday two other suspects – Bassem Awadallah, a former royal court chief, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, an ex-special envoy to Saudi Arabia – would remain in detention. The pair were not released due to their “different roles, the kind of their indictment sheets, and the degree of incitement that differs from the rest of the defendants who were freed”, al-Majali said, according to Petra news agency.