Man handed four-year jail term for promoting terrorist ideology

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing a man to four years in prison after convicting him of promoting terrorist ideology in Jordan over the past two years.

The defendant, who was arrested in July 2018, was convicted of promoting Daesh ideology since 2016 and received the maximum punishment.

Court documents said the defendant adopted the takfiri ideology in 2016 after monitoring Daesh’s activities on social media.

“The defendant was convinced that Daesh applied the proper Sharia [Islamic law] and he decided to convince his relatives and neighbours that it was a justified organisation,” court papers said.

The defendant created a Facebook account named "Eruption of storms" and used it to spread news related to the terror organisation, court transcripts said.

"The defendant's ultimate aim was to gain more sympathisers and supporters for Daesh," court papers added.

The SSC general prosecutor asked the higher court to uphold the sentence, stating that the SSC followed the proper procedures in sentencing the defendant.

The defendant, however, contested the SSC ruling through his lawyer, claiming that he was "illiterate and does not know how to use social media".

The lawyer also claimed that the SSC prosecutor failed to present “any solid evidence that would implicate his client with the charges”.

"My client did not use social media and there was no proof that he sent videos or any other material via social media that promoted terrorist ideologies," the lawyer said.

The lawyer also asked the court for a reduced sentence, since "my client is a father of five children, all under the age of five, and is a poor man".

However, the higher court ruled that the SSC followed the proper procedures and the defendant deserved the verdict he received.

“It was clear that the defendant confessed willingly to the charges and that the authorities’ investigation procedures were correct and within the law,” the Court of Cassation said.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Saeed Mugheid and Bassim Mubeidin.