Man handed two-year jail term for drug possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to two years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Amman in November 2019.

On November 9, the court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining various illegal narcotics with the intent to sell the drugs.

The SSC handed the defendant a two-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics, and ordered him to pay JD2,000 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned that the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and monitored his movements.

“AND agents stopped the defendant in the street and searched him,” the court documents said.

Upon searching the defendant’s house, the court papers said, AND personnel found additional illegal narcotics. 

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the SSC prosecution office “failed to provide solid evidence to implicate his client”.

Meanwhile, the SSC prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and the fine imposed on the defendant.

The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the proper procedures in issuing the sentences against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs without being subjected to any form of duress,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Hayel Amr, Majid Azab, Fawzi Nahar and Qassem Dughmi.