Man charged with attempted murder gets 8-year prison sentence

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a March Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in Amman in June 2020. 

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing the victim once in the chest during a heated argument in the Abdali area and handed him a 12-year prison term.

The court decided to reduce the sentence to eight years because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the defendant was exiting a toilet in the Abdali Boulevard when he started exchanging words with the victim.

“The argument turned into a scuffle and the defendant grabbed a knife and stabbed him once in the chest,” court papers said

The victim survived the assault after undergoing chest surgery at a nearby hospital, the court papers added. 

Attending physicians at the hospital determined that the injuries were life-threatening and he survived due to medical interference.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling arguing that the “prosecution failed to provide solid evidence to convict him with the charges”.

“The defendant was actually protecting himself and attacked the victim in self-defence,” the lawyer argued.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling. 

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, Fawzi Nahar, Nayef Samarat, Majid Azab and Hayel Amr.