Man handed eight-year prison sentence for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Cassation Court upheld a February Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 20-year-old man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a bakery shop owner in Ajloun in September of 2020. 

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing the victim with a knife on September 30 following “a heated argument”. 

The defendant was initially handed a 12-year prison term. However, the court reduced the sentence to eight years after the victim dropped the charges against him.

Court papers said the defendant was walking near a bakery in Anjara town when he spotted the victim inside.

“The two exchanged words and eventually, the victim rushed towards the defendant who pulled out a switchblade,” the court papers said.

The victim rushed towards the defendant with a wooden stick and hit him on his shoulder, the court documents stated.

“The defendant responded by stabbing the victim once in the stomach,” according to the court documents.

The victim survived the assault after undergoing surgery on his stomach at a nearby hospital, the court papers added. 

Attending physicians at the hospital determined that the injuries were life-threatening, and the victim survived due to medical intervention, according to the court documents.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling, arguing that the “he stabbed the victim in self-defence”.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling. 

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, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi and Hammad Ghzawi.