Jordan Sentences Bassem Awadallah, Sharif Hassan bin Zaid to 15 Years in Jail in Sedition Case

The Jordanian state security court. (EPA)
The Jordanian state security court. (EPA)
TT
20

Jordan Sentences Bassem Awadallah, Sharif Hassan bin Zaid to 15 Years in Jail in Sedition Case

The Jordanian state security court. (EPA)
The Jordanian state security court. (EPA)

A Jordanian state security court has sentenced two former officials to serve 15 years in prison over the sedition case in the kingdom and a plot to undermine its security.

Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid were found guilty of sedition and incitement charges.

The court said it had confirmed evidence backing the charges against the pair and that they had both been determined to harm the monarchy.

Awadallah was charged with agitating to undermine the political system and committing acts that threaten public security and sowing sedition.

The verdict follows three weeks after the first session of the trial was held.



Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
TT
20

Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

More than 273,000 Syrians who fled their country's civil war to neighboring Türkiye have returned home since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad in December, Türkiye's vice-president said Friday.

"The number of people who have voluntarily returned to Syria since December 8, 2024 has exceeded 273,000," Cevdet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Some 2.7 million Syrian refugees are still in Türkiye, according to interior ministry figures released in May.

The Turkish government, which supports Syria's new rulers, is hoping to accelerate the return of refugees to ease tensions generated by their presence in parts of the country.