UN rights office voices concern over arrests in Jordan

UN human rights office says it’s unclear whether estranged Prince Hamzah remains under de facto house arrest.

The United Nations human rights office has said that it was unclear whether Jordan’s Prince Hamzah remains under de facto house arrest and voiced concern at what it called a lack of transparency surrounding at least 16 detentions. “We’d like to state that aside from broad accusations it appears that no charges have been yet brought and we are concerned at the lack of transparency around these arrests and detention,” UN human rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado on Friday told a Geneva news briefing where she was asked about the case. Jordan’s King Abdullah II said on Wednesday sedition had been quashed after a rift with his half-brother and former heir Hamzah, whom the government had accused of links to efforts destabilise the country.