Cassation Court upholds 8-year sentence for man convicted of attempted murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man during a brawl in Jerash Camp in August of last year.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on Aug. 25 and handed him a 12-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to eight years because the 33-year-old victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the victim was heading to a shop late at night to buy cigarettes.

While walking toward the shop, the court maintained, “The victim noticed people fighting in the street, including his brother”.

"The victim rushed towards the group of men and asked his brother to leave but was surprised by the defendant who struck him on his shoulder with an iron bar," court documents said.

The defendant then drew a switchblade and “stabbed the victim once in the stomach,” the court added.

 The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the assault due to medical intervention, according to court papers.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that there were “legal errors in the investigation procedures”.

The prosecution, the lawyer argued, “depended on contradictory evidence when levelling the charges against my client,” the court documents stated.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the eight-year sentence.

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

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Naji Zubi, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi, and Mohammad Khashashneh.