Cassation Court upholds 8-year sentence for man convicted of attempted murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man at his house in Amman in January 2021.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on Jan. 21 and handed him a 12-year prison term.

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

Court papers said the victim and the defendant had old feuds because they were neighbours in the past.

The court maintained that on the day of the incident, the defendant invited the victim to his house to discuss their stalled matters.

While the victim was sitting in the saloon, the defendant excused himself and went to his room for a brief moment, court documents said.

“The defendant returned to the saloon with a gun in his hand and shot the victim once in the leg,” the court added.

The defendant fled from his house and was later arrested by the police, court papers said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he survived the shooting incident due to medical intervention, the court transcripts added.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that his client should receive a reduced sentence “since the intention of my client was to only harm him”.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the eight-year sentence.

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 Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Mohammad Shreiri, and Mohammad Khashashneh.