Man gets 10-year prison term for attempted murder of brother-in-law

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld an April Criminal Court ruling sentencing a Syrian man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder his brother-in-law in Irbid last September.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder and injuring another brother-in-law following a “heated dispute” on September 8. The defendant was given the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the victims went to the defendant's house to talk with his wife, their sister, because "they heard she was taking loans and cleaning houses".

"The victims asked their sister to stop working at peoples' homes because this was inappropriate and tarnished their image and reputation in the neighbourhood," court documents said.

The victims then cursed at their sister and beat her in front of the defendant. Interfering, the defendant cursed back at the victims, court papers added.

As a result, the court maintained, the victims started to criticise the defendant "for sending his wife to clean houses and beg for money while he stayed at home doing nothing".

"The defendant kicked the victims out of his house, and... grabbed a kitchen knife, and a wooden stick and went after them," court transcripts said.

Then, he rushed to the victims' house and "the minute he saw one of them, he stabbed him in the stomach with the kitchen knife", according to the court papers.

The second victim went outside to find out what was happening, the court continued. Then, "the defendant struck him on his head with a wooden stick".

The victims were rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the assaults because of medical intervention, court papers added.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court ruling through his lawyer, arguing that "he should be declared innocent because the whole incident was a set-up", and that his "confessions in front of the authorities [had been] inaccurate and contradicted reality".

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court's attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 10-year sentence ruling, stating that the Criminal Court had followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant.

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

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Hammad Ghzawi, Saeed Mugheid and Naji Zu'bi.