Father, son jailed for restaurant shooting

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a father and his son to prison terms ranging from five to eight years in prison after convicting them of attempting to murder a man in Amman in January 2020. 

The Criminal Court declared the defendants guilty of attempting to murder the victim with a pump action gun on January 2 following “a heated argument”. 

Court papers said the defendants went to a restaurant where the victim worked and engaged in “a heated argument over an old feud”.

“The two men left the restaurant and returned to their house where they got hold of a pump action gun and headed back to the restaurant where the victim worked,” court papers said.

The minute they walked to the premises, the court maintained, “one of the two defendants shot the victim striking him in the chest and arm”.

The victim survived the assault after undergoing surgery at a nearby hospital, the court papers added. 

Attending physicians at the hospital determined that the injuries were life-threatening and he survived due to medical interference, the court transcripts maintained.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling arguing that the “prosecution failed to provide solid evidence to convict him with the charges”.

“The prosecution also violated the defendant’s rights by failing to abide by the proper investigation procedures,” the defence lawyer argued.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling. 

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

"It was clear to court that the two defendants confessed willingly to shooting the victim and, therefore, they deserve the punishment they had received," the higher court ruled.

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