Man handed 8-year prison term for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in Zarqa in October 2019.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of striking the victim on the head with a blunt object on October 5 and handed him a 12-year prison term. 

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

Court papers said the defendant engaged in a brawl near the victim’s home.

“The victim heard people fighting and went outside his home to check the matter,” court papers said

The defendant saw him and “struck him with a blunt object on his head,” the court papers added. 

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital by his family members, according to court papers.

Attending physicians at the hospital determined that the injuries were life-threatening and that the victim survived due to medical interference, the court maintained.

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

“The court relied on weak and contradictory statements by the witnesses,” 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 Mohammad Khashashneh.