Man sentenced to 8 years over attempted murder in Balqa

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in Balqa governorate in July 2020.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on July 23 and handed him a 12-year sentence.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to eight years because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the victim and the defendant were working at a landfill in Salt.

"The defendant engaged in a heated argument with his friend over the price of a pack of cigarettes he bought for him,” the court papers said.

The victim tried to interfere and stop the argument, the court transcripts stated.

The court documents maintained that the defendant then "drew a switchblade and stabbed the victim once in the chest".

The victim was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent several surgeries and survived the incident.

The defendant did not contest the ruling.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general, however, asked the higher court to uphold the eight-year sentence.

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

The Cassation Court bench comprised of judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi and Mohammad Khashashneh.