A member of the Qatari ruling family, Hamad bin-Jasim bin-Hamad al-Thani, has been arrested on charges of leading a plot to overthrow the Emir.

Sheikh Hamad bin-Jasim, who is a former finance minister and chief of the Qatari police, has been described by the interior ministry as the prime suspect in the attempt to overthrow Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in February, 1996.

It said the arrest followed a long investigation.

The official statement did not say how or where Sheikh Hamad bin-Jasim was arrested, but reports say he was extradited from an unnamed Arab state.

The alleged coup attempt took place a year after the current Emir of Qatar overthrew his own father in a bloodless coup. More than one-hundred-and-twenty people have been accused of involvement in the failed coup.

Some have already stood trial and others are being tried in their absence.