Man receives death penalty, 4 others sentenced to 15 years for revenge murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to death and four others to 15-year prison terms each after convicting them of murdering a man  in Amman in April 2015.

The court declared the main defendant in the case guilty of shooting and killing a man to avenge a previous fight on April 3, 2015, and handed him the death penalty.

Four other defendants standing trial in the case were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for their role in the incident.

A sixth defendant, who was also standing trial on the same charges, was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence. 

Court documents said two of the defendants had engaged in a fight with the victim two days before the incident in a cafe in downtown Amman.

“The victim injured the two defendants and then fled the area,” court papers said.

The defendants pledged to take revenge “and informed the four other defendants, who agreed to join them to revenge the attack by the victim”.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendants armed themselves with guns and sharp and blunt objects and lured the victim to a deserted area.

“The main defendant fired several bullets at the victim while the rest attacked him with blunt and sharp objects,” the court said. 

The defendants contested the verdict through their lawyers, claiming that the incident had occurred in a moment of rage.

The defendants also said the Criminal Court had depended on contradictory statements, and that they should therefore receive reduced sentences since the murder occurred in a moment of rage and “was not planned”. 

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the court to uphold the verdicts, arguing that the defendants deserved the punishments and the court proceedings had been accurate.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court had followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendants and that they deserved the verdicts.

“The premeditated motive is very clear to us, especially since the defendants used several weapons and lured the victim away in order to commit their crime,” the court maintained.

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