Cassation Court upholds 12-year sentence for murder attempt

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 12 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a taxi driver in Amman in January 2022.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempting to murder the 54-year-old victim with a machine gun in Shafa Badran area.

The defendant was given the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant was roaming the streets in his taxi when he received a request from a woman via an application.

When the victim arrived at the designated destination, “the defendant went out of his house with a machine gun and fired dozens of rounds towards the victim’s vehicle”, court papers said.

"The victim sped off with his vehicle and was not injured but several bullets penetrated his taxi," court documents said.

The defendant confessed to the shooting incident and told investigators that “he thought the taxi that parked near his home belonged to one of family members who were his enemies”, the court papers stated.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that “he was subjected to duress by the investigators”.

The defence also argued that the court relied on contradictory statements by some witnesses.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 12-year sentence ruling.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

“The defendant did not provide any evidence that proved that he was subjected to any form of duress by the investigators,” the court papers stated.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi, Mohammad Khashashneh and Hammad Ghzawi.