20-year prison term for man who murdered Syrian teen over JD2

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering a Syrian teenager over a JD2 debt in Amman in August 2014.

The defendant received the maximum sentence after being convicted of stabbing the 14-year-old boy to death while in the street on August 19.

Court documents said the defendant and the victim lived in the same neighbourhood and had an argument over a JD2 debt that the victim’s brother owed to the defendant.

On the day of the murder, “the defendant met the victim in the street and they started arguing about the debt,” the court said, adding “the defendant drew a knife and stabbed the victim in the back but his injury was artificial.”

The victim rushed to his house and informed his family and they headed to a police station to file a complaint against the defendant, the court papers said, noting that on the way to the station, “they were intercepted by the defendant who was attempting to stop them from reaching the police.”
“The defendant tried to prevent them by drawing a switchblade and waving it at them and, when he realised they would not stop, he stabbed the victim in the chest and killed him,” the court added.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s arguing that he “killed the victim in self defence” and should benefit from a reduction in penalty.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant.

 “It was clear that the defendant attacked and killed the victim based on his own confessions and the witnesses who are present when the stabbing incident occurred,” the higher court ruled.

 The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Hamad Ghzawi and Majid Azab.