June 21, 2021
AMMAN (Reuters) – A former Jordanian royal court chief and a low-ranking member of the royal family pleaded ‘Not guilty’ on Monday to charges of agitating to destabilise the monarchy, one of their lawyers said.
Prosecutors had referred to a military court the case of Bassem Awadallah, an ex-royal court chief and finance minister who played a big role in the drive to liberalise Jordan’s economy, and Sherif Hassan Zaid, a distant relative of King Abdullah.
During the first session of the trial on Monday, both pleaded not guilty, according to Mohamed Afif, Awadallah’s lawyer.
(Reporting By Suleiman al-Khalidi; writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
