Amman, Jul 11 (AP): A US citizen and former prime aide to Jordan’s King Abdullah II alleged he was tortured in Jordanian detention and fears for his life, his US-based lawyer mentioned Sunday, on the eve of a verdict within the high-profile sedition trial linked to a uncommon public rift within the kingdom’s ruling household.
Together with the mistreatment allegations, the closed-door trial earlier than Jordan’s state safety courtroom “has been fully unfair,” Michael Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor employed by defendant Bassem Awadallah’s U.S.-based household, instructed The Related Press.
The allegations of mistreatment, denied by Jordanian officers Sunday, have been raised simply days earlier than Jordan’s king is to develop into the primary Arab chief to fulfill with President Joe Biden on the White Home on July 19. Jordan is a key Western ally in an unstable Center East.
Awadallah and co-defendant Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a distant cousin of the king, have pleaded not responsible to sedition and incitement prices, which carry prolonged jail phrases.
The defendants have been accused of conspiring with a senior royal — Prince Hamzah, a half-brother of the king — to foment unrest in opposition to the monarch whereas soliciting international assist. The indictment portrayed Hamzah as a disgruntled royal who by no means forgave Abdullah for taking away his title of crown prince in 2004.
Hamzah, who was positioned beneath home arrest in April and has been seen in public simply as soon as since then, denied he incited in opposition to the king, saying he was being punished for calling out high-level corruption.
Regardless of the intense nature of the allegations in opposition to Awadallah and bin Zaid, the trial ended after simply six periods. The courtroom denied requests by Jordanian protection legal professionals to name witnesses and prosecutors solely shared purported transcripts, however not audio, from surveillance of the alleged plotters.
The prosecutor’s workplace on the state safety courtroom denied the trial was unfair. Awadallah was “assured due course of” according to Jordanian regulation, the prosecutor mentioned in a press release to the AP. “He has not been mistreated in any means, and his allegations of torture of any type are false.” Sullivan, a former U.S. lawyer for Massachusetts and former performing director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, mentioned that primarily based on the way in which the trial was performed, a responsible verdict gave the impression to be a foregone conclusion. He mentioned any conviction can be appealed.
The U.S. authorized crew, which has remained within the background till now, will play a extra open function within the appeals stage, mentioned Sullivan. He mentioned the purpose is to lift consciousness about Awadallah’s case in the USA and internationally. This consists of “the intense issues about his security and safety within the brief time period and the entire unfairness by way of the method, in addition to clearly the torture and violation of a lot of worldwide conventions, treaties and legal guidelines,” Sullivan mentioned.
The prosecutor’s workplace mentioned Awadallah did not increase torture allegations throughout the courtroom hearings, his 17 conferences along with his Jordanian lawyer or the primary 4 of his 5 conferences with the U.S. consul in Jordan. “He solely made these claims at his most up-to-date assembly with the consul, because the ruling’s pronouncement (verdict) neared,” the assertion mentioned.
Sullivan mentioned Awadallah instructed his customer that he had been been overwhelmed, subjected to electrical shock and was threatened with future mistreatment “if he did not confess.” The prosecutor’s workplace mentioned Awadallah gave a voluntary assertion concerning the case, denying it had been extracted by power.
Awadallah’s household mentioned late final week that he fears for his life. “Bassem is justifiably afraid of being killed in jail after the sentencing, particularly as a result of he held a number of excessive rating and delicate positions within the Jordanian authorities,” the household mentioned.
Awadallah, who additionally holds Jordanian and Saudi citizenship, served as head of the royal courtroom and authorities minister in Jordan. He has intensive enterprise pursuits within the Gulf and has suggested Saudi Arabia’s highly effective crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, on attracting international funding.
The Awadallah household urged the Biden administration to name for Awadallah’s launch.
The White Home on Sunday directed queries to the State Division, which didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. (AP) MRJ
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