AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Samih Maaytah on Sunday said defecting Syrian prime minister Riyad Hijab is still in the country and staying under security protection, adding that Hijab has not applied for political asylum. 

“He is like other Syrian citizens who are currently in the Kingdom. It is up to him to decide what to do in the coming days, whether to stay or leave the country,” Maaytah said yesterday at a press conference.

Hijab as well as 35 of his family members and relatives were taken from the northern border to a “safe location” in Amman after they crossed into the Kingdom at dawn last Wednesday.

The minister said that the group crossed into the Jordanian territory via the fence, not the border crossing, and was received at the border by members of the Jordan Armed Forces and security agencies.

The former premier announced his defection on Monday and was hiding in southern Syria before the Free Syrian Army was able to escort him to the border.