Defendants on trial for immolation of two lawyers plead not guilty

AMMAN — Three defendants, standing trial on charges of setting fire that led to the death of two lawyers at their office in Amman last June, pleaded not guilty on Thursday. 

The charred bodies of the two lawyers, Mohammad Zawawi, 42, and Moayad Rafaiah, 29, were discovered on June 27, 2016 by Civil Defence Department rescue teams who were called to extinguish the fire at their office located in a commercial building in the capital’s Qweismeh suburb. Investigators concluded that it was arson.

Two of the three defendants were arrested shortly after the incident occurred, while the third, who was first considered a witness by the authorities, was detained at a later stage after investigations indicated that he was reportedly involved in the incident.

The main defendant in the case, who was a client of the two victims, was charged with setting a fire that lead to the death of a human being. The two other defendants are standing trial for complicity in setting a fire that led to the death of a human being.

The incident occurred over an alleged dispute related to around JD1,500 that the main defendant claimed he won in a case the victims had represented him in and failed to notify him of the amount, the charge sheet said.

The suspect claimed that he called the victim to inquire about the money on several occasions, but the lawyer ignored his calls, according to the charge sheet.

On the day of the incident, the charge sheet added, the defendant asked his friend, the second defendant, to accompany him, bought paint thinner and headed to the lawyers’ office to discuss the matter.

“The defendant claimed that he had no intention of killing anyone and that he only intended to threaten the victim, pouring the flammable substance on the office’s door,” the charge sheet maintained.

The sheet added that the defendant “used a lighter, and fire spread in the room, trapping both lawyers, so he fled in his car and left his friend behind”.

When the defendant heard in the news that the two men died, the charge sheet maintained, “he turned himself into police”.

Ibrahim Hayek, from the public freedoms committee at the Jordan Bar Association, said the association and some of its members are following up on the case in court.

“The victims were our colleagues and they were killed while performing their duties. The two victims are part of the association and we are all one family,” Hayek told The Jordan Times.

A government autopsy indicated that the victims were alive when they were set ablaze.

If convicted of the charges, the main defendant in the case could face the death penalty.

The court set March 2 as the new date to start hearing the prosecution witnesses in the case.