Eight men charged with manslaughter over death of man in Irbid

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Sunday charged eight men with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 44-year-old man during a brawl in Irbid over the weekend, official sources said.

The victim, who was not identified by officials, received a blow to the head with a blunt object during a fight that involved over 30 men in a neighbourhood in Irbid, 80km north of Amman, on Friday night, a senior judicial source said.

“The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival,” the source told The Jordan Times.

Police rounded up around 30 men who were reportedly involved in the brawl and “seized several weapons and blunt objects found with the suspects”, the judicial source added.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Qahtan Qawaqzeh questioned the 30 detainees and decided to charge eight with manslaughter charges and ordered the release of the rest, according to the judicial source.

“Preliminary investigations indicated that the fight occurred between members of the same family over old feuds,” the source said.

Meanwhile, an autopsy that was conducted by a team of government pathologists at Irbid’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine indicated that the cause of death was a blow to the head, a senior medical source said.

“The victim was suffering from heart problems and blockage in the veins for over 20 years, and that contributed to his death,” the medical source told The Jordan Times.

The source said that the eight suspects were ordered detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation.