Cassation Court upholds 8-year sentence for man convicted of attempted murder

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

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on January 11 in Taj neighbourhood and handed him a 12-year prison term.

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

Court papers said the defendant and the victim had old feuds that two years before the incident.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant called the victim to visit him at his house to discuss the old feuds, court documents said.

When the victim arrived, the defendant pretended that he was making tea in the kitchen when “in reality, he grabbed an unlicensed gun,” the court added.

“The defendant fired several rounds at the victim striking him in the leg then fled from his house,” court papers said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital suffering from non-life threatening injuries, the court papers added.

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

The lawyer also argued that the defendant caused a minor injury to the victim and “not be convicted of attempted murder”.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the eight-year 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 Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Mohammad Shreiri, and Mohammad Khashashneh.