Jail term upheld for 3 men convicted of plotting against Israelis

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing three men to 15 years in prison each after convicting them of plotting subversive acts against Israelis in the Kingdom in late 2015.

The SSC declared the defendants guilty of plotting attacks against Israelis, manufacturing explosives with the intent of blowing up major oil and electricity lines in Jordan and attempting to join the Daesh terror group, handing them the maximum sentence.

The three defendants, who knew each other and believed in ideologies promoted by Daesh, decided to plot subversive acts in Jordan and began looking for funding.

“One of the defendants began searching on the Internet for ways to manufacture explosives. He started buying raw materials from the local market for that purpose,” the court said.

The convicts managed to manufacture explosives and were in the process of “blowing up the electricity line tying Jordan with the West Bank when they were caught”, the court papers added.

The defendants’ lawyer claimed that the defendants’ confessions were extracted under duress and called for their acquittal.   

Meanwhile, the SSC general attorney asked the higher court to uphold the ruling, “because the defendants confessed their plans willingly in front of the SSC prosecutor”.

The Cassation Court ruled late last month that the SSC’s proceedings were accurate and correct and the defendants received the appropriate punishment.

The tribunal comprised judges Yassin Abdullat, Daoud Tubeleh, Mohammad Tarawneh, Mohammad Beirodi and Bassem Mubeidin.