Man handed 8-year prison term for plotting subversive acts

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June State Security Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of plotting subversive acts in the Kingdom in 2019.

The court declared the defendant, who is a supporter of the Daesh extremist group, also guilty of spreading terrorist ideologies by using social media platforms and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said that the defendant had been following the terrorist group since 2014, Daesh, via social media and “pledged allegiance to their leader”. 

Few years later, the defendant decided to launch terrorist activities against security and military establishments in the Kingdom, the court documents said.

“The defendant scouted two security establishments and planned to plant an explosive device in one area, and decided to attack another establishment with a machinegun,” according to court transcripts.

However, the defendant was arrested in 2019 by security forces before he was able to carry out any of his plans, the court documents said.

The defendant, through his lawyer, contested the verdict, arguing that the SSC had failed to present any solid evidence that could implicate him.

“The SSC prosecution office failed to provide any evidence that my client used social media to spread terrorist ideologies as the SSC prosecution office claimed,” the defence lawyer said.

The lawyer also argued that the SSC relied on weak evidence and unreliable witnesses when issuing its verdict, according to court documents.

“The court relied on the defendant’s confessions that were extracted under duress and he denied his confessions during the SSC court proceedings,” the defence lawyer argued. 

Meanwhile, the SSC's general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the ruling, stating that the court abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The higher court ruled that the SSC had followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and that he deserved the verdict he had received. 

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Nayef Samarat, Yassin Abdullat, Bassim Mubeidin and Hayel Amr.