Man sentenced to over 5 years in jail for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to over five years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in Irbid in August 2019. 

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of striking the victim on the head with a wooden stick on August 4 and handed him an eight-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to five-years and four months because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the defendant and a second man, who did not appeal his verdict, decided to murder the victim and stalked him in the neighbourhod where he lived.

“The two attacked the victim the minute they saw him walking back to his home with a switchblade and a wooden stick,” court papers said.

The court did not provide a motive behind the attack.

The victim survived the assault after undergoing several surgeries at a nearby hospital, the court papers added. 

However, attending physicians at the hospital determined that the injuries were life-threatening and he survived due to medical interference.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling arguing that the “prosecution failed to provide solid evidence to convict him with the charges”.

“The victim provided contradictory statements and my client is not the culprit,” the lawyer argued.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling. 

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 judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi and Nayef Dughmi.