2 men handed 8-year prison terms each for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a January Criminal Court ruling, sentencing two men to eight years each in prison after convicting them of attempting to murder a man over old feuds in Zarqa in February 2020.

The Criminal Court declared the defendants guilty of stabbing the victim in the stomach with a knife in the Ghweirieh area on February 16 following “a heated argument”. 

The defendants were first handed a 12-year prison term each for the attempted murder charges.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentences to eight years in prison for each defendant because the victim dropped charges against them.

Court papers said the defendants and the victim had an old grudge.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendants were walking in the street and saw the victim leaving a supermarket.

“The defendants rushed towards the victim and an argument ensued between the three,” court papers said.

One of the defendants pushed the victim to the ground while the second drew a knife and stabbed him once in the stomach, court documents added.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the assault after undergoing surgery, the court papers added. 

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

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

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 defendants were given the appropriate punishment. 

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi and Qassem Dughmi.