Cassation Court upholds 20-year sentence in murder case

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering a man in Sahab.

The Criminal Court downgraded the premeditated murder charge of the defendant to manslaughter and handed him a 20-year prison term in December for murdering Turky M. in early November 2011 following an argument.

Court transcripts said the victim had married the defendant’s ex-wife one year before the incident. The victim had asked the defendant to divorce his wife five years earlier but he refused.

“The defendant’s wife obtained a divorce because her husband went to prison on several occasions and she married the victim almost a year before the incident,” court papers said.

When the defendant was released from prison, the court added, he met with the victim to discuss the divorce issue.

“An argument ensued and the defendant stabbed the victim with the help of another man who also received 20 years for his part in the murder, then dumped his body in a cesspool with the help of a third person, who received two years in prison for failing to report the murder to the authorities,” the court verdict said.

The third person informed one of his friends about the murder in 2012. The friend notified the authorities and the victim’s body was discovered.

The defendant had contested the 20-year ruling, arguing that the court did not follow proper procedures and overlooked some evidence that would have “proved his innocence”.

Meanwhile, the attorney general also appealed the verdict asking the higher court for capital punishment.

The Cassation Court, which issued its verdict recently, ruled that the Criminal Court’s decision fell within the law and that the proceedings were proper.

The higher court also rejected the attorney general’s request to consider the premeditated aspect of the murder, stating that “the prosecution failed to present any evidence to prove that the murder was committed in a premeditated manner.”

The Cassation Court comprised judges Basil Abu Anzeh, Yassin Abdullat, Mohammad Ibrahim, Dawoud Tubeleh and Bassim Mubeidin.