Following an ABRI investigation, Prabowo acknowledged responsibility for the kidnapping of the activists. He was discharged from military service in August. He and Wiranto denied that the discharge was a result of disciplinary action. In August 1998, the Dewan Kehormatan Perwira (Officers Council of Honor) tried and found Prabowo guilty of "misinterpreting orders" in the kidnapping of anti-Suharto activists in 1998. He was discharged from military services and went into a voluntary exile in Jordan where he knew that country's new young King Abdullah as a fellow commander of special forces. In an interview with "Asiaweek" magazine in 2000, Prabowo said "I never threatened Habibie. I was not behind the riots. That is a great lie. I never betrayed Pak Harto. I never betrayed Habibie. I never betrayed my country...There was a certain group that wanted to make me a scapegoat, maybe to hide their involvement."" Rights groups have long questioned Prabowo's eligibility to run for president, noting that he was discharged dishonorably from the Army in August 1998 for "misinterpreting orders" in the abduction of the democracy activists. While that was the military's official statement, observers have long believed that it was a coup conspiracy that saw Prabowo, then the commander of the Army Strategic Reserves, given his marching orders.