Court upholds 2018 attempted murder conviction

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld an October 2018 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to seven years in prison after convicting him of attempted murder in the Jordan Valley in 2015.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty following a shooting incident on August 27. The defendant was given the maximum sentence and was ordered to pay JD205 in fines.

Court papers said the defendant wanted to take revenge on the victim and his family because of an old legal feud.

"The defendant was waiting for the right moment to take revenge, and he obtained an automatic weapon," court documents said.

Court documents showed that on the day of the incident the defendant monitored the victim’s movements.

“The victim was entering a court building to follow up on a case related to the defendant when shots were fired towards him,” according to court transcripts.

No one was injured in the shooting incident but the court’s building sustained some minor damage, the court papers added.

The defendant contested the verdict through his lawyer, who argued: “My client is innocent and the court relied on contradictory statements by the witnesses in this case.” 

The lawyer also argued that “no one was injured during the shooting incident so the charges should be dropped”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the seven-year sentence.

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

“The evidence against the defendant is very strong and he failed to provide any evidence that proves his innocence,” the Court of Cassation ruled.

The higher court also added that the witness’ testimonies were accurate and that “there were no contradictions”.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Bassim Mubeidin, Saeed Mugheid Yassin Abdullat and Naji Zu’bi.