Man gets 4 years in jail for molesting tourist

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to four years in prison after convicting him of molesting a female tourist in Petra in March of this year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molestation charges and handed him the maximum sentence of four years.

Court papers said the victim arrived in the country after meeting the defendant on social media.

A few days after arriving, the court maintained, the two sat in one of the camps in Petra with other people.

“The victim went to use the toilet and the defendant followed her and touched her private parts,” according to the court transcripts.

The victim immediately notified camp officials about the sexual assault incident and they alerted the authorities, according to court papers. 

The defendant appealed his verdict through his lawyer claiming that the prosecution failed to provide any “solid evidence” to implicate him.

The defence also claimed that the victim provided contradictory statements, which could not be used as evidence against his client.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentence.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Court of Cassation was headed by Judge Mohammad Ibrahim and included judges Fawzi Nahar, Majid Azab, Hayel Amr and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.