Court upholds 20-year sentence in Amman murder case

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an April 2018 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 26-year-old man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering a man in Amman in March 2015.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of shooting and killing a man in Jabal Zhour on March 27, over old feuds, and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said on that on March 17, the defendant spotted the victim walking in the street and decided to harm him.

”The defendant drew a switchblade and attempted to stab the victim, but he [the victim] started running, so he drew a gun and shot him several times, striking him in the spinal cord,” court documents said.

The victim was rushed to a hospital where he initially survived the shooting but succumbed to his wounds and died 10 days later, according to court transcripts.

The defendant, through his lawyer, contested the court’s ruling arguing that the “court did not follow proper legal proceedings and did not consider some of the evidence that was presented by the defence lawyer”.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures and that the defendant deserved the verdict he received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Bassem Mubeidin and Hamad Ghzawi.