2 brothers get 20-year prison terms for murdering half-sister

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a September Criminal Court ruling sentencing two brothers to 20 years in prison after convicting them of murdering their half-sister in Irbid in February 2018.

The Criminal Court found the two men guilty of stabbing the victim to death on February 9 and handed each a 20-year prison term.

The Criminal Court decided to amend the premeditated murder charges originally pressed against the two defendants to manslaughter “because it was proven to court that the two brothers did not plot the murder and that their actions were spontaneous”.

The court also acquitted two other brothers who were standing trial on the same charges for lack of evidence.

“The fact that both defendants were present following the stabbing incident at the crime scene does not mean that they were accomplices in the crime,” the higher court ruled.

Court papers said on the day of the incident, the two defendants noticed that their half-sister was wearing “inappropriate clothes, was smoking and talking on the phone”.

“The pair decided to go to talk to her about her appearance and inappropriate conduct, which they rejected,” according to the court papers.

When they entered her house, they took her to a room to be alone with her and locked the door to discuss the matter with her, the court maintained.

“The victim made fun of their talk and she started screaming and an argument ensued, prompting the two brothers to attack their half-sister,” the court said.

The defendants drew their “switchblades and approached their half-sister where they beat her up and banged her head against the wall,” the court stated.

“One of the defendants pinned his sister to the ground and placed his hand over her mouth, while the second defendant stabbed her repeatedly on her chest, stomach and legs,” court transcripts said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital by the Civil Defence Department ambulance, but she was declared dead on arrival by attending physicians, the court added.

The Criminal Court’s General Prosecutor contested the ruling asking the court to restore the original premeditated murder charges against the two defendants.

The prosecution office also asked the higher court to reconsider the acquittal of the two other brothers “since it was clear that they had prior knowledge of the murder plans by the two other defendants”.

However, the Cassation Court, which issued its ruling in October, ruled that the Criminal Court’s ruling falls within the law, the proceedings were proper and the sentences given were satisfactory.

“It was proven to the court that the murder occurred at the spur of the moment and that the two other defendants arrived after the victim was murdered,” the higher court ruled.

The Court of Cassation comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Hayel Amr, Majid Azab and Saeed Mugheid.