SSC indicts 17 suspects in Zarqa assault case

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday indicted 17 suspects, involved in cutting off the hands of a 16-year-old boy and leaving him blind in one eye, on a range of charges.

The boy was brutally attacked by a group of men who gouged his eye and cut off his hands in Zarqa last month.

Nine charges were levelled against the 17 defendants, among them a fugitive. The charges include: Forming a gang, attempted murder, causing permanent disability, kidnapping, indecent assault, carrying out a terrorist act and spreading fear among the public, carrying and possessing blunt instruments, carrying and possessing a firearm without a licence, and resisting security forces.

The 17th accused man will be tried in absentia, as he has been informed through official channels and daily newspapers to turn himself in, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

All the defendants denied the charges made against them, while the court decided to assign an attorney at the expense of the Treasury to represent three of the defendants who claimed that they cannot afford to hire an attorney.

Presiding Judge Lt. Col. Mawfaq Masaeed, in a statement following the session, said that the hearings will be resumed next Sunday, noting that two sessions per week will be held and the court will hear testimonies from 26 witnesses.