Jordan's Hamzah renounces title of prince in protest against policies
Jordan's former crown prince, Hamzah bin Hussein, who was implicated in a coup plot against his half-brother, King Abdullah II, gave up his royal title on Sunday.
Hamzah, in a statement posted on Twitter, announced he was "renouncing the title of prince", a month after a royal court statement said he had apologised to the king for last year's aborted coup and pledged allegiance to him.
"After what I have witnessed over the past years, I have come to the conclusion that my personal convictions and the values that my father instilled in me… are not in line with the approaches, trends or modern methods of our institutions," he wrote in the statement.
"I had the great honour of serving my beloved country and dear people in this capacity throughout the years of my life," he wrote.
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"I will remain as long as I live faithful to our beloved Jordan."
On 8 March, the royal court said Hamzah had taken "responsibility for his actions and offences towards Jordan and His Majesty over the past years, including the incidents that followed in the sedition case".
In a letter written by Hamzah in March and released by the official Jordan News Agency, the former prince said: "Last year, our dear Jordan passed through a difficult circumstance and an unfortunate chapter.
"The months that have passed since that time have provided me with an opportunity for self-reflection, and frankness with myself… I made a mistake."
Rare crisis
Jordanian authorities announced last April that they had foiled a bid to destabilise the western-allied kingdom, marking a rare crisis in a kingdom seen as a pillar of stability in the region.
Hamzah was detained at home in Amman after being accused of fomenting unrest, although the government denied he had been arrested.
Jordanian authorities arrested at least 16 people in relation to the alleged plot, which exposed deep rifts within the royal family and rocked the kingdom's image as a bastion of stability and security in the region.
In statements following the arrests, King Abdullah said the crisis was "the most painful" because it came partially from inside the royal family.
Hamzah accused Jordan's rulers of corruption and ineptitude in a video message posted by the BBC on 3 April last year.
A Jordanian court in July sentenced former royal court chief Bassem Awadallah, and an ex-envoy to Saudi Arabia, Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, to 15 years in prison after they were found guilty of involvement in the plot.
Hamzah was not charged in the trial, but the charge sheet said he was "determined to fulfil his personal ambition to rule, in violation of the Hashemite constitution and customs".
The king appointed Hamzah as crown prince in 1999, at the request of his late father, King Hussein, but removed him from the post in 2004, later naming his son, Prince Hussein, as next in line to the throne.
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