Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder of woman

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 20 years in prison for murdering a woman in Karak in June 2019.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of murdering the victim following “a heated argument” with a wooden stick on June 7, and handed him the maximum sentence.

According to court papers, the victim accused the defendant’s sister of engaging in an illegitimate affair with her brother.

The defendant was informed of the accusations and asked the victim to go with him to a secluded area to discuss the accusations, according to court papers.

On the way, the court maintained, the defendant grabbed a broken wooden stick that was thrown on the street nearby, the court papers said.

"Following a short argument, the defendant undressed the victim by force and stuffed the broken wooden stick in her private parts while she screamed in pain," the court documents said.

The defendant then asked the victim to apologise to his sister for uttering false accusations, which she did, court papers added.

The victim did not inform any of her relatives of the assault incident by the defendant and went to sleep, the court said.

The following day, the court maintained, the victim’s family tried to wake her up but discovered that she was dead.

“An autopsy indicated that the victim was brutally attacked by a blunt object which caused an internal bleeding resulting in her death,” the court stated.

The defendant contested the verdict through his lawyer, arguing that “the prosecution failed to provide any solid evidence to implicate his client”.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 20-year sentence.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings had been accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Hayel Amr, Majid Azab, Yassin Abdullat and Nayef Samarat.