Court upholds murder sentence for man involved in tribal dispute

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a January Criminal Court decision sentencing a man to 20 years in prison for murdering his neighbour in June 2015.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant the maximum sentence after convicting him of shooting and killing the victim during a brawl on June 11.

  Court documents said the defendant and his family were involved in a tribal dispute with another family over the disappearance of a member of the opposing tribe. 

As a result, the court maintained, “the two tribes agreed on a peaceful ‘atwa’ to try to end the dispute but tensions remained between the two tribes”.

An atwa is a tribal agreement that functions as a temporary conciliation between conflicting parties until the case is ruled on in a civic court. 

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, “tension was renewed by the two families and a huge brawl broke out in which live ammunition, rocks and other weapons were used by the families of both tribes”.

“The victim was inside his sister’s house and decided to go outside to check the matter when he was struck by a single bullet in the chest,” court papers said.

When authorities conducted their investigations, the court added, they concluded that “the bullet was fired by the defendant”.

 The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital by ambulance where he died shortly afterwards, according to court transcripts. 

The defendant contested the court ruling arguing that he “shot and killed the defendant in self-defence, and should therefore benefit from a reduced sentence”.

However, the Cassation Court ruled that the Criminal Court’s judgement fell within the law, that the proceedings were proper and that the sentence given was satisfactory.

“The victim did not carry any weapon on him and just went outside to check the matter when he heard gunshots and his actions caused no threat to the defendant in any way possible,” the higher court ruled.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Saeed Mugheid, Naji Zu’bi and Nayef Samarat.