Bassem Awadallah served as chief of Jordan's Royal Court. AFP
Bassem Awadallah served as chief of Jordan's Royal Court. AFP
Bassem Awadallah served as chief of Jordan's Royal Court. AFP
Bassem Awadallah served as chief of Jordan's Royal Court. AFP

Bassem Awadallah referred to security court in Jordan over 'sedition'


Khaled Yacoub Oweis
  • English
  • Arabic

Jordanian authorities have referred a former confidant of King Abdullah and a junior royal detained in April to a security court, official media said on Wednesday.

In April the authorities implied that the two men were involved in what the government described as sedition.

State media did not reveal the specific accusations against Mr Awadallah, a former chief of the Royal Court, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, who will appear at the military-run State Security Court.

The official news agency said a prosecutor at the state security court had "issued written accusations" against the two men.

“The file has been sent to the prosecutor of the State Security Court to perform the legal procedure,” the agency said.

The arrest of the two men, whom the government linked to a half-brother of King Abdullah, and 16 others who were later released, has sent ripples across the tribal base of the monarchy.

  • Jordan's State Security Court in the capital, Amman. AP Photo
    Jordan's State Security Court in the capital, Amman. AP Photo
  • Bassem Awadallah, a former right-hand man of King Abdullah II. Mr Awadallah, who played a major role developing the country's economic policy, was arrested on 'security grounds'. EPA
    Bassem Awadallah, a former right-hand man of King Abdullah II. Mr Awadallah, who played a major role developing the country's economic policy, was arrested on 'security grounds'. EPA
  • Officials, the military and state media denied reports that former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein had been detained or his movement restricted. AFP
    Officials, the military and state media denied reports that former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein had been detained or his movement restricted. AFP
  • King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan. Jordanian Royal Palace
    King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan. Jordanian Royal Palace
  • Jordan's King Abdullah; Queen Noor, widow of late King Hussein; and Queen Rania posing for a picture with Prince Hamzah, half-brother of Jordan's King Abdullah and his new wife Princess Basma Otoum in 2012. AFP, HO
    Jordan's King Abdullah; Queen Noor, widow of late King Hussein; and Queen Rania posing for a picture with Prince Hamzah, half-brother of Jordan's King Abdullah and his new wife Princess Basma Otoum in 2012. AFP, HO
  • Jordan's Prince Hamzah with his mother Queen Noor. AP File
    Jordan's Prince Hamzah with his mother Queen Noor. AP File
  • A frame maker in Amman displays a picture of king Abdullah II. EPA
    A frame maker in Amman displays a picture of king Abdullah II. EPA
  • A frame maker in Amman displays a picture of king Abdullah II. EPA
    A frame maker in Amman displays a picture of king Abdullah II. EPA
  • A frame maker in Amman displays pictures of king Abdullah II. EPA
    A frame maker in Amman displays pictures of king Abdullah II. EPA
  • Prince Ali with his half brother King Abdullah of Jordan as they walk together in the funeral procession of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Cairo on November 12, 2004. EPA, file
    Prince Ali with his half brother King Abdullah of Jordan as they walk together in the funeral procession of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Cairo on November 12, 2004. EPA, file
  • Prince Hamzah, right, and Prince Hashem Bin Al Hussein, left, half brothers of King Abdullah II of Jordan. AP, File
    Prince Hamzah, right, and Prince Hashem Bin Al Hussein, left, half brothers of King Abdullah II of Jordan. AP, File
  • Jordan’s King Abdullah II laughs with his half brother Prince Hamzah, right, shortly before the monarch embarked on a tour of the United States. AP, file
    Jordan’s King Abdullah II laughs with his half brother Prince Hamzah, right, shortly before the monarch embarked on a tour of the United States. AP, file

Several Arab and western governments issued statements in support of the stability of the kingdom, built on a delicately crafted, a century old social contract and buttressed by an alliance with the US.

No date was announced for the start of a trial.

Two Jordanian criminal lawyers said there might not be a trial, unless the prosecutor, who is an officer in the military pursues the case against the two men.

"This is a political case and the announcement today leaves the authorities lots of room if they decide not to pursue the trial," said one of the lawyers, who did not want to be named, considering the sensitivity of the issue.

At the start of April, Jordanian authorities accused Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, half-brother of King Abdullah, of unspecified action that undermined the country’s security and arrested 18 people they said were his associates.

The king later described what occurred as sedition, without giving details.

Prince Hamzah was among those blamed for supposedly sowing internal division, prompting rumours that a coup may have been attempted.

Chief of Staff Maj Gen Yousef Huneiti visited Prince Hamzah to tell him to cease communications with alleged plotters and the public.

The dispute was swiftly de-escalated after the intervention of Prince Hassan bin Talal, an uncle of King Abdullah, who appeared alongside the monarch and Prince Hamzah at an event marking the kingdom's centenary on April 11.

After appeals by tribal leaders to the king, the authorities released 16 of the 18 arrested at the end of April, leaving two people in detention not associated with any tribes. The pair are Mr Awadallah and Mr Hassan.

In a move underlying the political importance of the tribes, King Abdullah visited the southern city of Maan on Sunday, one of the most impoverished urban centres in Jordan.

State media said the king met tribal leaders from the region, which borders Saudi Arabia.

The authorities put down an uprising in Maan in late 1980s after a sharp rise in bread prices. Several clashes between security forces and inhabitants of the city have occurred over the last decade.

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

The Matrix Resurrections

Director: Lana Wachowski

Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick 

Rating:****

Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year

2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)

Race card

4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m

5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m

5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m

6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m

6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m

7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m

The National selections:

4pm Zabardast

4.35pm Ibn Malik

5.10pm Space Blues

5.45pm Kimbear

6.20pm Barney Roy

6.55pm Matterhorn

7.30pm Defoe

Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.

Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.

The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.

The bio

Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions

School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira

Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Dream City: San Francisco

Hometown: Dubai

City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala

Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile

Company: Eighty6 

Date started: October 2021 

Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh 

Based: Dubai, UAE 

Sector: Hospitality 

Size: 25 employees 

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investment: $1 million 

Investors: Seed funding, angel investors  

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Game is on BeIN Sports

Results:

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

1st Test July 26-30 in Galle

2nd Test August 3-7 in Colombo

3rd Test August 12-16 in Pallekele

What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)

Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)

Sonchiriya

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vault%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBilal%20Abou-Diab%20and%20Sami%20Abdul%20Hadi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EInvestment%20and%20wealth%20advisory%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOutliers%20VC%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.