Cassation Court upholds sentence in Zarqa murder case

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a February Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of murdering a man in Zarqa in September of 2015.

The court declared the 32-year-old defendant guilty of stabbing the victim with a switchblade following a heated argument in mid-September, and handed him the maximum prison term. 

Court documents said the victim’s brother had beat up the defendant one day before the incident.

“The defendant decided to take revenge, so he asked his brothers to join him and they agreed,” according to court papers.

On September 14, the defendant and the victim met in a street, and “without uttering a word he drew a knife and stabbed him once in the head,” court transcripts added.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but died four days later from wounds to his skull.

The Court of Cassation rejected his claims and ruled that the Criminal Court’s ruling was accurate and the defendant deserved his sentence.

The Court of Cassation was comprised of judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Majid Azab, Nayef Samarat and Naji Zu’bi.