Man handed one-year prison term for drug possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a man to one year in prison after convicting him of possessing 12 illegal pills in Zarqa in November of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (12 Captagon pills) for personal use on November 19.

The SSC handed the defendant a one-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics and ordered him to pay JD1,000 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and in mid-November decided to raid his home in Dhulail.

“The AND agents searched his house and found the illegal narcotics and a scale used to weigh the drugs,” court documents said.

The defendant “confessed to possessing the illegal narcotics when he was arrested and said he regretted breaking the law,” according to court transcripts.  

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the court “should have given his client a reduced sentence because this was the first time he is caught using illegal drugs”.

Meanwhile, the SSC prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and the fine imposed on the defendant.

The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the proper procedures in issuing the sentences against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs and the punishment is correct,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi, Hammad Ghzawi and Yassin Abdullat.