Higher court upholds death sentence to convict Libyan for premeditated murder

AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld a December Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 28-year-old Libyan to death after convicting him of murdering a fellow national in Amman, in July of 2017.

The court declared the defendant guilty of shooting his 22-year-old countryman and handed him the maximum punishment, according to court documents.

After shooting him, the defendant set the victim’s body ablaze in a rented vehicle at the Amman National Park on July 23.

The Civil Defence Department was called in to extinguish a burning vehicle, when they found the charred body and called the police, court transcripts said.

The defendant and the victim were friends and roommates, and were both studying at an aviation academy in Jordan, the documents added.

A few days before the murder, the transcripts said, the suspect claimed that “the victim falsely accused him of stealing around JD40,000 from him and had threatened to expose him”.

The defendant stated that the victim began spreading the stolen cash story among their friends, so “he became enraged and plotted to kill him”, the court added.

“The adult suspect lured the victim with the help of a minor and they drove in a rented vehicle to a deserted area where the defendant shot him [the victim] once in the head,” the transcripts said.

The defendant then drove to a secluded area of the park and set the car on fire with the body inside, according to court documents.

However, investigators were able to identify the person who rented the vehicle from its license plates “which pointed to one of the defendants”.

“The defendant had bought a ticket to return to Libya and was about to leave the country via Queen Alia International Airport when he was stopped by the authorities,” transcripts said.

The defendant had contested the Criminal Court’s ruling asking for a lower punishment, claiming that “there were procedural flaws in the investigation, while the Criminal Court disregarded some major evidence that could acquit the defendant”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the higher court to uphold the verdict because “the court proceedings followed due process and the defendant deserved the punishment he received”.

The Cassation Court rejected the defendant’s claims, stating that it was clear to the court “that the elements of premeditated were present in this case and that the defendant deserved the death penalty”.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassim Abdullat, Bassem Mubeidin and Hammad Ghzawi.