Cassation Court upholds jail sentences  of two men convicted of terror plots

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a July State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing two men to a prison term ranging from five to 10 years after being convicted of plotting subversive acts in Jordan in mid-2017.

The two defendants were also convicted of promoting Daesh ideologies and attempting to recruit individuals to join the terrorist organisation. 

Court documents said the two defendants adopted takfiri ideologies in 2014 and considered the Jordanian state as “infidel state since it did not apply the Islamic Sharia”.

“The two met with other terrorists who were supporters of the Daesh terror group and started promoting their ideologies,” court papers said.

But their friends were arrested by the Jordanian authorities, so they decided to launch terror attacks inside the country “to avenge their arrest by targeting army and police personnel”, according to court papers.

In mid-2017, court documents maintained, the two defendants surfed the Internet to learn about “manufacturing explosives”.

“They also used social media to gain more Daesh supporters and decided to stab army and police officers instead of using explosives but the two were arrested before being able to carry out their plans,” the documents said.

The defendants contested the SSC rulings through their lawyers, claiming they were subjected to “torture and duress in order to confess to something that they did not do”.

The lawyer also charged that the SSC prosecutor failed to present “any solid evidence that could implicate his clients with the charges”.

However, the Cassation Court ruled that the SSC followed the proper procedures and the defendant deserved the verdict he received.

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