Court upholds sentence of man convicted of attempting to murder officer

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a January Criminal Court decision sentencing a 23-year-old man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a police officer in Amman in July 2017.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant the maximum sentence after convicting him of shooting and attempting to kill a police officer who came to his house in the Jabal Al Taj neighbourhood to arrest him on July 18. 

 Court documents said the defendant was wanted by police on several charges.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, police arrived to his house to arrest him but he hid inside.

“The defendant had an unlicensed gun and hid under his bed,” court papers said.

The officer entered the room and looked for the victim then looked under the bed and found him, “so the defendant fired one round at him, which struck him in the waist”.

“The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he survived the shooting incident although the wound threatened his life,” court papers said.

The defendant contested the court ruling asking to be declared innocent, arguing that “the Criminal Court’s prosecution office failed to present any solid evidence to implicate the defendant and the Criminal Court relied on contradictory statements by the witnesses”.

However, the Cassation Court ruled that the Criminal Court’s judgement fell within the rule of law, that the proceedings were proper and that the sentence given was satisfactory.

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