Death penalty upheld for man convicted of murdering 2 lawyers

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to death and another to 15 years in prison after convicting them of murdering two lawyers at their office in Amman in June 2016.

The court handed the defendants the maximum penalty for murdering Lawyer Mohammad Zawawi, 42, and Moayad Rafaiah, 29, on June 27 while at their office in a commercial building in the capital’s Qweismeh neighbourhood.

The court also ordered the defendants to pay JD90,117 in compensation for the victims' families.

A government autopsy revealed that the victims were alive when they were set ablaze with a flammable substance, and that their bodies were charred beyond recognition, according to the court verdict.

Court papers said that one of the defendants was angered after learning that the victim "had won a JD1,500 that is part of a case on his behalf and took the cash without notifying him".

The suspect claimed that he called the victim to inquire about the money on several occasions on the day of the incident, but the lawyer ignored his calls, according to court papers.

"The victim eventually answered the calls and the two argued about the matter resulting in the lawyer hang up the phone," court papers said.

The victim's actions angered the suspect who called the second defendant and asked him to accompany him to the victim's office, according to court papers.

On the way to the victim's office, the court maintained, the defendant bought paint thinner.

“The defendant walked into the victims' office, poured thinner and set the office ablaze with a lighter while the second defendant waited outside,” the court verdict said.

The court added that the fire spread quickly in the room causing an explosion, which trapped both lawyers, although residents in the commercial building attempted to rescue them, but could not because of the fire's magnitude”.

Meanwhile, the two defendants fled the area and later turned themselves in when they learnt that there were casualties, the court papers added.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentences "because the two defendants deserve the punishment they received".

The defence, meanwhile, asked the court to acquit their client because "the Criminal Court failed to summon an electrical engineering expert to inspect the condition of wires at the victims' office".

The defence also argued that the law enforcement officials "violated the arrest protocols when they detained our clients".

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and the defendants were given the appropriate punishment.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Bassem Mubeidin, Majid Azab, Yassin Abdullat and Saeed Mugheid.