Man handed 20-year sentence for killing neighbour

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an April Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of killing his neighbour, who he suspected was involved in a relationship with his divorced mother in Irbid in June 2017.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of striking the victim repeatedly on his head with a blunt object on June 14, resulting in his immediate death. The defendant was given the maximum sentence.

Court papers said that the defendant was informed by some of his friends that his mother, who lived alone in an apartment in Irbid and was divorced, was involved in “an illegitimate affair with his neighbour, who was also her tenant”.

“The defendant confronted his mother, who denied any wrongdoing, so he turned his questions to the victim, who also denied the claims,” court documents said. 

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant went to visit his mother and saw the victim leaving her apartment.

“The defendant engaged in a heated argument with the victim and asked him to go up to the roof of the building to continue the discussion,” according to court documents.

The two began fighting and the defendant grabbed a wooden stick that he found on the roof and “beat the victim on his head and chest repeatedly until he was sure he was dead”, court documents said.

The defendant then escaped from the building and was later arrested by police, court documents added.

The defendant contested the verdict through his lawyer, arguing that he “killed the victim in a moment of rage to defend his family’s honour”, court documents read.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 20-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 Mohammad Ibrahim, Saeed Mugheid, Majid Azab, Yassin Abdullat and Naji Zu’bi.