10 jailed for eight years over 'criminal conspiracy'

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Monday sentenced 10 defendants to eight years in prison, after convicting them of "criminal conspiracy" in "The Dead Sea Case", the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The case involved 19 defendants, with the 11th defendant convicted of resisting police and sentenced for a two-year imprisonment, while eight were acquitted for lack of evidence.

The 10 convicts, who had criminal records related to theft cases, took advantage of the chaos that followed the government's 2012 decision to lift fuel subsidies, the court said.

They conspired to close the road connecting Amman and the Dead Sea, particularly the Naour Bridge area, with iron barricades and tyres to force drivers going that way to stop, so they could attack and rob them.

A prosecution witness testified that he was on his way returning from the Dead Sea with his wife and children when the defendants threw stones at his car, forced him to stop, threatened him with sharp tools, and stole his wallet and mobile. 

They did the same to a truck driver, whose vehicle was laden with 35 tonnes of salt, which they forced him to unload in the street.

Also on Monday, the civilian panel at the SSC sentenced a defendant involved in the "brokerage firm scam" case for 14 years in prison.

The defendant was also fined JD1,400, in a addition to the JD5 million that he acquired from the plaintiffs through the scam.