Man handed 20-year jail term for murdering brother

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison for murdering his 68-year-old brother in Amman July 2019.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of shooting his brother in Ashrafieh neighbourhood over inheritance matters in early July and handed him the maximum sentence.

The court decided to amend the original charge of premeditated murder against the defendant to manslaughter “because it was proven to the court that the defendant did not plot to murder his brother”, court documents said. 

The court said the defendant and his brother would often argue over inheritance and financial matters.

“The victim would also argue with the defendant about allowing a woman whom he took as a second wife to live in one of the family’s apartments without paying any rent,” the court documents said.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained that “the financial dispute escalated between the victim and the defendant”.

“The defendant and the victim engaged in a heated argument and he ended up shooting him three times on different parts of his body,” the court papers said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, the court transcripts added.

The defendant, through his lawyer, contested the ruling arguing that he shot the victim in self-defence, the court papers said.

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 were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Qassem Dughmi, Nayef Samarat, Yassin Abdullat and Hammad Ghzawi.