Woman handed 12-year prison term for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May 2022 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a Syrian refugee woman to 12 years in prison after convicting her of attempting to murder a Syrian refugee man in Azraq Refugee Camp in February 2021.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder, stemming from “a heated dispute” with the victim, on February 16.

The defendant was given the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant and the victim were engaged in an “illegitimate affair and would often meet at the woman’s house”.

The defendant, who wanted to end the relationship, knew that the victim kept some inappropriate photos of her on his mobile, according to the court papers.

“The woman decided that she wanted to delete the photos so that he would not show it to her husband and family members," the court documents said.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the victim visited the defendant’s residence.

“The victim approached the defendant, but she rejected him and attempted to snatch his mobile,” the court maintained.

The victim became more persistent, which prompted the defendant to head to the kitchen and grab a knife, according to the court transcripts.

“The defendant stabbed the victim on different parts of his body with the kitchen knife,” the court maintained.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the stabbing incident after undergoing a few surgeries, the court papers added.

The defendant contested her ruling via her lawyer arguing that there were “legal errors in the investigation procedures”.

The defence also argued that the defendant stabbed the victim in self-defence and, therefore, should benefit from a reduction in penalty.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 12-year sentence ruling.

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

The higher court rejected the defendant’s claims that she attempted to kill the victim to defend herself stating that there was no evidence to support her claims.

“The defendant had the chance to escape from her residence instead of stabbing the defendant,” the higher court ruled.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar and Mohammad Shriereh.