In Jordan sedition trial, U.S. defendant alleges torture

A U.S. lawyer says an American citizen and former top aide to Jordan’s King Abdullah II has alleged he was tortured in Jordanian detention and fears for his life

AMMAN, Jordan -- A U.S. citizen and former top aide to Jordan's King Abdullah II alleged he was tortured in Jordanian detention and fears for his life, his U.S.-based lawyer said Sunday, on the eve of a verdict in the high-profile sedition trial linked to a rare public rift in the kingdom's ruling family. Along with the mistreatment allegations, the closed-door trial before Jordan's state security court “has been completely unfair,” Michael Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor hired by defendant Bassem Awadallah's U.S.-based family, told The Associated Press. The allegations of mistreatment, denied by Jordanian officials Sunday, were raised just days before Jordan's king is to become the first Arab leader to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on July 19. Jordan is a key Western ally in an unstable Middle East. Awadallah and co-defendant Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a distant cousin of the king, have pleaded not guilty to sedition and incitement charges, which carry lengthy prison terms.