Man sentenced to 18 months in prison for drug possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December 2020 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to 18 months in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Amman in August 2020.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining 1,777 illegal narcotics pills on August 20 with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market.

The SSC also ordered the defendant to pay JD1,500 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and was planning to sell them in his neighbourhood.

“The AND agents raided the defendant’s house and found the illegal drugs in his possession,” court documents said. 

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the court “did not provide solid evidence to implicate his client”.

The lawyer also charged that the “illegal drugs found with my client were for personal use and not for trafficking,” according to court papers.

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.

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