‘Festive firing practice crossed all limits’

AMMAN — Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu'bi on Saturday said that the festive firing phenomenon at weddings and other social events has “crossed all limits”.

The minister vowed to take all the necessary legal, social, educational and religious measures to eliminate this phenomenon, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At a meeting held at the ministry to discuss domestic issues, attended by senior officials and officers, Zu'bi asked governors and security services to deal firmly with those who practise festive firing and to take legal and administrative action against them.

The interior minister stressed that enforcing the law without favouritism would provide the proper environment to reduce crime and criminal phenomena that require joint efforts involving all institutions and members of society. 

He stressed the role of religious, cultural, social and educational civil society institutions in spreading awareness on the danger of festive firing, which, he said, has claimed many innocent lives. He also urged the media to help spread awareness about this problem and its impact on individuals and society as a whole, which would raise the citizens' sense of responsibility.

In 2015, a total of 35 people were arrested and 33 weapons seized in cases of festive firing, according to official figures.

Individuals convicted of causing death by festive firing can receive up to 20 years in prison, and in cases of multiple fatalities, the shooter can be sentenced to life in prison.

Those convicted of causing an injury by festive firing face up to 10 years in prison.