SSC prosecutor demands highest punishment in ‘sedition’ case

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) prosecutor on Thursday asked the court to inflict the highest punishment on Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan Bin Zeid.

The two are standing trial at the SSC on charges of sedition and plotting incitement acts against the regime.

If convicted on charges of incitement and sedition, the two defendants could get between three and 20 years in prison, according to the lawyers.

Also during Thursday’s fifth closed session, the defence team asked the court for time to prepare their closing arguments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The court agreed and set next Tuesday as the date for the trial, Petra reported.

Awadallah and Sharif Hassan, who pleaded not guilty during their opening trial earlier this month, presented written statements to the SSC on Sunday.

The SSC prosecution sheet also included a charge against Sharif Hassan Bin Zeid of possessing illegal narcotics (hashish). 

The SSC prosecutor had rested its case last week.

Awadallah and Sharif Hassan Bin Zeid and other suspects in the case were arrested in April for “security reasons”.

The charge sheet said the two defendants were friends for a long time because of the nature of their work and connection to HRH Prince Hamzeh.

For a while, the charge sheet added, Prince Hamzeh was aiming to become the ruler of Jordan, which is against the Constitution and “took advantage of certain incidents in Jordan, including the COVID-19 pandemic, to create chaos and frustration in Jordan”.

Their strategy included attacks and criticisms against His Majesty the King with hopes of gaining popular support and eventually becoming the ruler of Jordan”, according to the charge sheet.

Prince Hamzeh and Sharif Hassan Bin Zeid met on a regular basis to discuss means of achieving their goals and the latter suggested the name of Awadallah to help them with the needed international support to utilise their plot, the charge sheet said.

However, the SSC prosecution office received a tip-off that the two defendants were conducting suspicious activities that would undermine the safety and security of the country and they were put under surveillance for one month, the charge sheet said.

On April 3, the charge sheet continued, the defendants were arrested and their plans that would have caused “grave threat to the national security and stability of the country and the system were thwarted”.