Two lawyers burnt to death in Amman arson attack; suspect arrested

AMMAN — Police on Monday night announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with the murder of two lawyers at their office located in a commercial building in the capital’s Qweismeh suburb, official sources said.

The charred bodies of the two lawyers were discovered by Civil Defence Department (CDD) rescue teams who were called to extinguish the fire at around 7pm, a CDD official source said.

“The fire destroyed the entire 20-metre room, and the two men were burnt beyond recognition,” the CDD official told The Jordan Times.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said the crime lab and forensics concluded based on evidence at the scene that “the cause of the fire was arson”.

“We conducted a thorough investigation, and within hours, we concluded that the suspect had financial disputes with the lawyers and we arrested him,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

Sartawi would not elaborate on how investigators pinpointed the suspect.

In his initial statement to the authorities, according to the police official, “the suspect told investigators that he entered the lawyers’ office, set it ablaze and left.”

“The suspect is currently in police custody and we are trying to learn more details about the incident and how he was able to overpower both men, because there are no signs of gunshot or stab wounds, or bludgeoning on their bodies,” Sartawi added.

A postmortem is expected to be conducted on the two victims on Tuesday, the police official said.

The Jordan Bar Association identified the deceased as Mohammad Zawawi and Moayad Rafaiah and mourned their deaths.

Several lawyers also mourned the death of their colleagues on Facebook and posted their photos.