AMMAN: Jordan released on Thursday 16 people detained for “sedition” at the request of King Abdullah II, the state prosecutor said, weeks after an alleged plot to destabilise the country was foiled.

But two key suspects, former royal court chief Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, an ex-special envoy to Saudi Arabia, were kept in detention, Brigadier General Hazem al-Majali said.

He said the decision to release the 16 “at this time in the investigation” was taken at the request of the king, without specifying if this was a final pardon or a temporary release.

The 16, alongside Awadallah and Bin Zaid, were being investigated in the case “to destabilise security and stability in Jordan”.

Earlier Abdullah, in a statement released by the royal court, said he had asked authorities to release “brothers” who were “misled, wronged, dragged behind this sedition” so they could be with family as soon as possible during Ramazan.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2021