Man jailed for 12 years for killing brother

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an April Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 12 years in prison after convicting him of killing his brother in Ruseifeh in October 2019.

The court declared the defendant guilty of running over his brother with a vehicle on October 17 and handed him a 20-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to 12 years because the victim’s parents decided to drop charges against their son.

Court documents said the victim was “a constant trouble maker” and that on the day of the incident he engaged in “a heated argument” with his father while they all stood in the street.

“The victim threw a mobile at his father then the two engaged in a small scuffle and the father slipped in the process,” court papers said.

The defendant thought that the victim pushed his father to the floor, so he jumped in his vehicle and drove towards the victim, court papers added.

“The defendant struck the victim and the latter flew in the air over 30 metres high and fell down,” the court maintained.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival.  

The defendant contested the court ruling through his lawyer arguing that “he struck his brother by mistake while driving and that he had no intention of murdering him”, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the sentence against the defendant “because the punishment he received was proper”.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant, and that he deserved the verdict he received.

The Court of Cassation bench comprises judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Khashashneh, Nayef Samarat, Yassin Abdullat and Fawzi Nahar.