Man handed 8 years for attempted murder of in-law

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder his in-law in Ruseifeh in March 2021.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on March 3, and handed him a 12-year prison term.

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

Court papers said that the victim had marital problems with his wife, and went to his in-laws house to discuss the matter.

The defendant knew that the victim was coming over, and waited for him outside the house, the court papers said.

"The minute he saw the victim, the defendant fired several rounds towards him, striking him in the thigh,” the court documents said.

The defendant fled from the area and was later arrested by the police, the court documents maintained.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the shooting incident, the court added.

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

The prosecution, the lawyer argued, “failed to prove that my client was the one who fired the shots since there were three other occupants in the vehicle,” the court documents stated.

"My client is innocent, and he was not the one who pulled the trigger," the lawyer argued.

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 Mohammad Ibrahim, Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Hayel Amr and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.