Woman has 10-year sentence upheld for being accessory to murder, robbery

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld an October 2016 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 30-year-old woman to 10 years in prison after convicting her of being an accessory to a robbery and murder in Amman in September 2007.

The court declared the defendant guilty of being an accessory to a murder, and handed her the maximum sentence for the September 30 death of the victim.

Court documents said the defendant and two other men, who have been tried and sentenced but did not appeal their verdicts, went on a ride with the victim on the day of the murder in Jabal Nuzha.

“The defendants learned that the victim had JD500 on him and decided to rob him,” court papers said.

The defendants agreed that the female suspect would lure the victim “to a secluded area so they could rob and kill him”, according to court papers.

“One of the male defendants drew a gun and shot the victim three times in the head and chest and the three defendants took the JD500 and left,” court transcripts said.

The defendant contested the court ruling through her lawyer, asking to be declared innocent and arguing that the Criminal Court “depended on weak evidence when issuing the verdict”.

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

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