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)
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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.



Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site in the area of Kfar Yabous in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanon’s Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.