Causing death by festive firing is manslaughter — attorney general

AMMAN — Legal authorities have for the past three years indicted suspects of manslaughter in cases of festive firing that involve fatalities, a senior judicial officer has said.

In case the firing leads to an injury, the charge is attempted murder, said Chief Attorney General Judge Akram Masaadeh on Thursday. 

The relatively new approach has been supported by a series of convictions prosecutors have   earned in cases where they represented the people at the Grand Criminal Court, Masaadeh told the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

He noted that the court has ever since allowed trying suspects for manslaughter if they kill a person when celebrating by firing guns, under Article 326 of the Penal Code.

In light of the new interpretation of the said article, conviction means that the perpetrator will serve a prison term for 20 years, the jurist added. 

The sentence could reach a life if the imprisonment firing leads to more than one fatality, and the penalty could reach a 10-year imprisonment if the incident leads to an injury, he elaborated.

Masaadeh said the previous judicial opinions used to label such an act as a misdemeanour, in line with Article 343 of the same code, which means that the sentence is a minimum of six months in prison and a maximum of three years. It can be reduced to a week in jail replaceable with a fine, or even suspending the sentence, according to the jurist.

Interior Minister Salameh Hammad said Wednesday the ministry had prepared a new draft law on weapons and ammunition, and sent it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau, to stiffen penalties against those who fire bullets for no justified purpose.

Moreover, Hammad said the bill aims at prohibiting licensing automated weapons and introduces new regulations for possessing and carrying guns.

The Iftaa Department issued a religious edict in April urging people to abandon this religiously rejected practice because it disturbs public peace and harms others.

According to official figures released last October, three people were killed and 41 injured as result of festive firing in 2014.

At least 21 cases were registered last year against anonymous assailants, as the shooters could not be identified, according to the Public Security Department.

Police have recently arrested the groom and his father when a child was injured by a bullet allegedly fired during a wedding party in Ashrafiya neighbourhood in east Amman. The suspect reportedly turned himself over to authorities, taking responsibility for the incident.