Man gets reduced prison sentence for killing sister after family drops charges

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld an October Criminal Court verdict sentencing a 44-year-old man to five years in prison for murdering his married sister for reasons related to so-called "family honour" in October 2017.

In March 2019, the Criminal Court handed the defendant the death penalty after convicting him of murder in connection with the death of his 45-year-old sister on October 22, 2017.

However, the court reduced the defendant's sentence to five years in prison after the victim's family and her husband dropped charges against him.  

The defendant appealed his verdict, arguing that “he did not plot the murder and it should be considered manslaughter". He also argued that "he should be released from prison since the murder was committed before the General Pardon was issued”.

The Court of Cassation returned the case to the Criminal Court to “look into the defendant’s requests”.

In its second ruling, the Criminal Court decided to amend the original charge of premeditated murder to manslaughter and handed the defendant a 10-year-prison term, which was reduced to five years because the victim’s family and her husband had dropped charges against them. 

The Criminal Court then decided to release the defendant, citing the General Pardon, since "the victim's family dropped charges against him and his charge was manslaughter, which made him qualify for more reductions in penalty based on the General Pardon".

However, the Court of Cassation overturned the Criminal Court’s ruling a few months after the second verdict was issued, stating that the incident was premeditated murder, not manslaughter. The defendant "should not benefit from the General Pardon Law", the court said.

The Criminal Court's attorney general also contested the Criminal Court's decision to reduce the charges, arguing that the "court should reinstate the premediated murder charge and hand the defendant a higher punishment".

The Criminal Court adhered to the Court of Cassation's ruling and in October 2019 reinstated the original charge of premeditated murder and handed the defendant a reduced sentence of five years.

"As the Criminal Court concluded that the murder was committed premeditatedly, the defendant deserves the death penalty. However, since the victim's family and her husband dropped charges against him and the crime was committed before the General Pardon, his sentence is five years," court transcripts said.

Court documents said the victim developed a relationship with a man when she was single. The man tried to marry her, but her family refused, and the two engaged in sexual activities for almost four years.

A few weeks before her murder, the court maintained, “the victim felt pain in her stomach and thought she was pregnant, so she fled her house”.

“The victim’s family searched for her and she was found by the police. Eventually, she married the man with whom she was having an affair to avoid a scandal,” court papers said.

However, the defendant “insisted on killing his sister to cleanse his family’s honour, claiming that she brought him and his family shame”, according to court documents.

“The defendant kept monitoring his sister’s movements and when he realised she was alone at her husband's home, he went there to kill her," court papers said.

The defendant saw his sister sitting next to a pond washing some wool and rushed towards her, according to court papers.

"The victim's brother yelled at her, saying: ‘Why did you bring us disgrace and shame?’ Before hearing her answer, he pushed her into the pond, knowing that she did not know how to swim," court papers said.

The defendant stood next to the three-metre-deep pond as his sister drowned, and when he was sure she was dead, he left, court documents said.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Bassim Mubeidin, Naji Zu’bi and Hammad Ghzawi