Man handed 8 years for attempted murder of neighbour

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder his neighbour in September 2021.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder, stemming from “a heated dispute” with the victim on September 3. The defendant was initially given a 12-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to eight years in prison because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the defendant was standing next to his house when the victim approached him.

"The victim and the defendant argued about a previous incident involving an aggravated assault against the victim’s relative,” the court documents said.

The argument became heated and the defendant grabbed an iron bar and “struck the victim several times with it on his head,” according to the court papers.

The victim fell unconscious, while the defendant fled from the area, the court maintained.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was listed in critical condition, “but survived the incident after undergoing surgery," the court papers added.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that there were “legal errors in the investigation procedures”.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the eight-year sentence 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 was composed of judges Yassin Abdullat, Qassem Dughmi, Nayef Samarat, Mohammad Khashashneh and Hammad Ghzawi.