Man handed 8-year jail term for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a July Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in Ajloun in April 2020.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder, stemming from “a heated dispute” with the victim, on April 20.

The defendant was handed a 12-year prison sentence.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to eight years because the victim dropped the charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the defendant and the victim were in a construction material shop when the two started arguing.

"The argument became heated and the victim pulled a sharp object and waved it at the defendant," the court documents said.

The defendant drew a gun and fired six rounds at the victim, the court maintained.

“Five bullets struck the victim in the thigh and foot,” according to the court papers.

The defendant fled from the shop and was later arrested by the authorities, the court documents stated.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the shooting incident after undergoing few surgeries, the court papers added.

The defendant contested the ruling via his lawyer arguing that there were “legal errors in the investigation procedures”.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the eight-year sentence ruling.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Shariery, Fawzi Nahar, Majid Azab and Hayel Amr.