Three men sentenced to death in Jordan for church attack
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Bénin Web TV
Jordan’s State Security Court sentenced three men to death on Sunday for the armed attack on Saint George’s church in Hammoud, near Karak, which killed nine people during a funeral. The Court of Cassation will automatically review the sentences, according to the official record of the verdict published on 15 November.
On Sunday 15 November, Jordan’s State Security Court sentenced three men to death for their role in the assault on a Greek Orthodox place of worship in Hammoud, in the Karak governorate. The assault, which took place on 23 October during a funeral, killed nine people, according to the official record of the verdict published the same day.
The three accused were found responsible for acts of terrorism causing deaths, possession and use of weapons for terrorist purposes, and conspiracy and spreading the ideology of a terrorist organisation. One of them was also found guilty of financing terrorism. This first-instance verdict will be automatically reviewed by the Court of Cassation.
The prosecution had completed its investigation on 3 November, relying in particular on Jordan’s 2006 anti-terrorism law and the penal code.
The case had a follow-on in Syria. On 26 October, Amman struck groups in the south of the country that it accused of being linked to the attack. Damascus reported seven dead, including civilians. Jordan later acknowledged the deaths of civilians, and the two countries agreed on a joint commission to examine the strikes.
This sentencing comes more than three weeks after the attack on the Hammoud church. Three suspects had been arrested on 26 October in Karak, after an exchange of fire in an abandoned house.
