Jordanian authorities have arrested a former adviser to King Abdullah II and a number of others for "
security reasons
," the state-run Petra news agency reported on Saturday.
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Bassem Awadallah, who was head of the Royal Court from 2007 to 2008, was arrested including Cherif Hassan ben Zaid, said a security source quoted by Petra, without specifying the total number of people arrested.
Cherif is a title given to relatives of the royal family in Jordan.
The two men were arrested for "
security reasons
" after a security operation, the source said, adding that an investigation was underway.
A Jordanian official, quoted by state television Al Mamlaka, dismissed reports from some media suggesting that King Abdullah's half-brother and former crown prince, Hamza, was among those arrested.
Bassem Awadallah, former Minister of Finance and Planning, was very close to the Jordanian king but also a controversial figure in Jordan.
Before becoming head of the royal court in 2007, he was head of the king's cabinet in 2006.
Bassem Awadallah ultimately resigned as head of the Royal Court in 2008 after coming under heavy criticism for his alleged interference in controversial political and economic issues.
He had been accused by some deputies and other politicians as well as by journalists of interfering in the plans of privatization of the country.
