Man sentenced to 20 years in jail for murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 20 years in prison for murdering another man following “a heated argument” in an Amman neighbourhood in February 2020.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of murdering the 27-year-old victim on February 6 in the Qweismeh neighbourhood, and handed him the maximum sentence.

According to court papers, the defendant and the victim were old friends.

The defendant decided to murder the victim after the latter cursed his mother on the day of the incident.

"The defendant convinced the victim to consume alcohol and after the latter became drunk he stabbed him repeatedly on different parts of his body with a knife,” the court documents said.

The defendant then struck the victim’s head on the ground multiple times to make sure he was dead, according to the court papers.

The defendant contested the verdict through his lawyer, arguing that the “prosecution failed to provide solid evidence to implicate his client”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 20-year sentence.

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

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Saeed Mugheid, Hayel Amr, Majid Azab and Nayef Samarat.