Attempted murder in self-defence: Man handed reduced prison term

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to two years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in self-defence in March 2021 in eastern Amman.

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

Court papers said the defendant and the victim engaged in “a heated argument” over a small amount of money in Jabal Jofeh, where the two resided.

"The victim grabbed a sword from his house and returned to the defendant’s home and waved the weapon at the defendant and some of his family members," the court documents said.

The defendant responded by “striking the victim on his head with an iron bar”, the court papers added.

“The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the assault following medical intervention,” the court papers said.

The Criminal Court downgraded the initial charges of attempted manslaughter to a misdemeanour “after determining that the defendant acted in self-defence”.

“The victim’s actions constituted grave and unlawful behaviour that threatened the lives of the defendant and people around him,” the court ruled.

Therefore, the court maintained, the defendant should benefit from a reduction in penalty.

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

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was sentenced appropriately.