Minor convicted of terror charges, handed 18-year jail term

AMMAN — The Amman juvenile court on Thursday sentenced a16-year-old defendant to 18 years of imprisonment, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The minor was convicted of committing terrorist acts that caused deaths, using weapons in terrorist acts, manufacturing explosives to commit terrorist acts and possessing weapons and ammunition to commit terrorist acts.

Other charges included planning to carry out terrorist acts, promoting terrorist ideologies and entering and exiting the Kingdom illegally.

On Wednesday, the State Security Court (SSC) sentenced the juvenile’s father to death by hanging after charging him with the same terrorism-related charges connected to the “Irbid terror cell” case. 

The SSC on Wednesday sentenced five defendants in the “Irbid terror cell” case to death by hanging, handed 15-year jail sentences to three defendants, while seven were sentenced to ten years in prison, one sentenced for seven years and four for three years. 

Some of the suspects were arrested in February, and their arrest led to a raid on a building in Irbid on March 2, which left one special anti-terror unit officer and seven suspects dead.

The General Intelligence Department (GID) said at the time of the raid that the seven suspects, who were killed, had opened fire at security officers with automatic weapons and that they were wearing explosive belts.

The raid, which also resulted in the injury of five officers and two civilians, was followed by the arrest of 13 additional suspects.

Shortly after their arrest, the GID said the suspects were Daesh affiliates who were planning to carry out attacks on military and civilian sites in the Kingdom.