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Jordan to Announce Verdict in Sedition Case Monday

Police officers stand guard outside the State Security Court in the Jordanian capital Amman. (File/AFP)
Police officers stand guard outside the State Security Court in the Jordanian capital Amman. (File/AFP)
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Jordan to Announce Verdict in Sedition Case Monday

Police officers stand guard outside the State Security Court in the Jordanian capital Amman. (File/AFP)
Police officers stand guard outside the State Security Court in the Jordanian capital Amman. (File/AFP)

Jordanian State Security Court is expected to issue a verdict Monday in the "sedition" case, involving the former head of the royal court, Basem Awadallah, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, according to the defense lawyer.

"The State Security Court set Monday's hearing for the reading of the verdict," bin Zaid's lawyer Alaa al-Khasawneh told AFP on Tuesday.

He spoke after a hearing in which a 23-page dossier was presented summarizing the case for the defense.

The defense team asked the court to "find both clients innocent of the charges against them," according to Khaswaneh.

Mohammad al-Afif, the lawyer of Awadallah, pleaded the innocence, declaring that if the decision were issued against his client, he would appeal at the highest judiciary court in the country.

Charges against Awadallah and Zaid carry sentences up to 30 years in prison.

The two main defendants in the sedition case, which was linked to the former Jordanian Crown Prince, Prince Hamzah bin al-Hussein, face charges of agitating to undermine the kingdom's political system and acts that threaten public security and sowing sedition.

They are also accused of possession of narcotic substances with intent to use.

The indictment included details of the scheme to exploit social events to incite strife and social media against the Jordanian government and King Abdullah II within a series of steps that they were planning to execute.

The Jordanian monarch decided to "handle the question of Prince Hamzah within the framework of the Hashemite family" after entrusting the case to his uncle, Prince Hassan bin Talal.

Prince Hassan asked Prince Hamzah to sign a letter in which he affirmed he would remain faithful to the ancestors' legacy. He stressed that he will always be ready to help and support the King and the Crown Prince.

During last week's session, the State Security Court rejected the defense attorneys' request to summon 25 witnesses.

The list of defense witnesses included the prince himself, Princes Hachem and Ali, Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh, Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, and twenty others. It also consists of a British communications expert, who was part of significant cases, including the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The court sessions of the 'sedition' case started on June 21, 70 days after the arrest of the accused, Awadallah and Zaid.

Prior to the trial, local media published audio leaks of the defendants with Prince Hamzah, including messages exchanged with Awadallah.

The audio messages led to unveiling a plan targeting the security of Jordan by backing protests against the poor economic and social conditions aiming to create chaos.

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Arab World

Israel Issues Evacuation Warnings North of Litani, Kills 7 in Strikes on Tyre

04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
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Israel Issues Evacuation Warnings North of Litani, Kills 7 in Strikes on Tyre

04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
04 June 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows after an Israeli air raid on the Southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Israel's military warned residents of three villages north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon to evacuate on Friday as strikes overnight in the south Lebanon city of Tyre killed seven people.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 meters into open areas. Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, their facilities, or their weapons endangers their life!" the army's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

Israel also warned of imminent strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon's Sarafand.

Overnight, Israeli strikes in the south Lebanon city of Tyre killed seven people, a source from Lebanon's civil defense told AFP, despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

One strike near the Jabal Amel hospital killed four people, wounded seven and lightly damaged the facility, while another elsewhere in the city killed three and wounded five, including two children.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Thursday rejected a conditional truce announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys, demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal instead as he threatened northern Israel with new attacks.

Arab World

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

An Israeli soldier takes position during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 01 June 2026. (EPA)
An Israeli soldier takes position during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 01 June 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

An Israeli soldier takes position during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 01 June 2026. (EPA)
An Israeli soldier takes position during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 01 June 2026. (EPA)

Israeli forces shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Friday, while the military said it had killed someone who threw firebombs at vehicles.

In the early hours of Friday, the health ministry said it had been informed of "the martyrdom of the young man Haitham Ezzedine Omar Hmeida, 18, by occupation gunfire in the village of Beitin," northeast of Ramallah.

It added that the man's body was being withheld.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its forces had "identified several terrorists throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles traveling on a major roadway" near the village of Beitin.

"The soldiers opened fire at the terrorists and eliminated one of them," the military said, adding that its forces were "currently pursuing the remaining suspects."

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 with Hamas's attack on Israel, near-daily violence has rocked the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,078 Palestinians since then, including many gunmen, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.

Official Israeli figures show at least 46 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.

Arab World

Sadr Hands over Saraya al-Salam to Iraqi Govt as PMF to Be ‘Restructured’

Members of Saraya al-Salam react during a ceremony in the city of Samarra on June 4, 2026, marking their separation from the Sadrist movement and their integration into the Iraqi security forces. (AP)
Members of Saraya al-Salam react during a ceremony in the city of Samarra on June 4, 2026, marking their separation from the Sadrist movement and their integration into the Iraqi security forces. (AP)
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Sadr Hands over Saraya al-Salam to Iraqi Govt as PMF to Be ‘Restructured’

Members of Saraya al-Salam react during a ceremony in the city of Samarra on June 4, 2026, marking their separation from the Sadrist movement and their integration into the Iraqi security forces. (AP)
Members of Saraya al-Salam react during a ceremony in the city of Samarra on June 4, 2026, marking their separation from the Sadrist movement and their integration into the Iraqi security forces. (AP)

The armed wing of influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement handed over on Thursday its security responsibilities to the Iraqi army in Samarra city.

The Saraya al-Salam are part of the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces and hold security responsibilities in several regions, notably Samarra.

Sadr had announced on May 27 that he was merging the Saraya al-Salam with the state, calling on other PMF factions to follow suit.

Within a week, the Imam Ali Brigades and Asaib Ahl al-Haq factions said they were disengaging with the PMF. Other staunchly pro-Iran factions, the Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba movement, have refused to disarm and dismantle their armed wings.

Head of Iraq's Security Media Cell Lieutenant General Saad Maan said all Saraya al-Salam fighters are now working under the orders of the prime minister, who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

State media aired footage of the Saraya al-Salam members lowering their faction’s flag at their operations command center at a ceremony attended by a military delegation dispatched by PM Ali al-Zaidi.

Washington has long wanted to curtail Iran's influence in Iraq, but the start of its war with Tehran on February 28 has given it new momentum.

Iran-backed groups in Iraq have launched numerous strikes against US installations in Iraq since the start of the Middle East war at the end of February.

The strikes have been blamed on pro-Iran groups, against whom the US has retaliated, killing dozens of their fighters.

Qais al-Muhammadawi, Deputy Commander of Iraq's Joint Operations Command, speaks during a ceremony marking the start of the process of the Saraya al-Salam handing over its weapons to Iraqi state forces in Samarra, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)

Washington has in turn put pressure on Baghdad to rein in the groups by suspending security assistance and cash transfers of Iraqi oil revenues.

Qais al-Muhammadawi, Deputy Commander of Iraq's Joint Operations Command, told a press conference that the Saraya al-Salam will now be merged with the armed forces.

The faction has been deployed in Samarra since the 2007 al-Askari shrine bombing. It remains to be seen whether they will quit the city for the first time in 19 years.

A military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group handed over all of its headquarters to the army and its fighters are now at the command of the armed forces.

Despite these developments, the details of the dismantling of the groups and their disarmament remain vague, said observers. Questions remain over the size of their arsenal and whether they will really turn them over to the government and completely abandon them.

An Iraqi security official said the mechanism for disarmament remains “unclear”, reported AFP.

Local media said an initiative has been proposed for discussion before the ruling pro-Iran Coordination Framework. It includes securing tens of thousands of government jobs in official security institutions for members of the dismantled armed factions.

Members of Saraya al-Salam gather during a ceremony in the city of Samarra on June 4, 2026, marking their separation from the Sadrist movement and their integration into the Iraqi security forces. (AFP)

PMF ‘structuring’

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Sabah al-Numan announced that the committee tasked with imposing state monopoly over arms has kicked off its operations.

He said that “faction disengagement from the PMF calls for the restructuring of formations and ensuring the rights of members.”

This was the first time that the issue of structuring of the formations has been brought up since the PMF’s establishment in 2014. The group was initially set up to fight the ISIS extremist group.

Numan explained that “disengagement” entails “administrative frameworks and the restructuring of these formations within the security agencies, guaranteeing the rights of fighters and merging them with military formations.”

The committee will set up mechanisms for merges and the handover of weapons and military equipment to the official security agencies, he added.

The committee is comprised of officials from the defense and interior ministries, Joint Operations Command and PMF.

What’s next?

Qais al-Khazali's Asaib Ahl al-Haq is expected to follow in Sadr’s footsteps and handover its weapons.

The group, which the US designates a terrorist organization, also forms an important parliamentary bloc with 27 seats. Having refocused on politics, it has distanced itself from Iran and has not taken part in the current war.

A source close to the group said “being part of the government is more important that fighting. So we want to offer the US reassurances.”

The Imam Ali Brigades said it will form a committee to follow up on the disarmament and handover of weapons under the PM’s supervision.

The group has effectively put its administrative control in Zaidi’s hands, said a source close to the factions.

Washington's special envoy for Iraq and Syria, Tom Barrack, has called the disarmament efforts a "significant step forward, which represents the nascent foundation for a renewed Iraqi self-governance". He welcomed the "principled decision" of those groups that are choosing to integrate.