JORDAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPING, MURDERING NEIGHBOUR

May 9, 2012: In Jordan, the Criminal Court has sentenced a 30-year-old man to death for raping and murdering a woman in Sweileh in January 2007.
The court declared the defendant guilty of abducting, raping and murdering his 21-year-old neighbour on January 22 and handed him the maximum punishment.
Court transcripts said the defendant had sought his neighbour's hand in marriage on several occasions but her father rejected his request every time because "he had bad manners and a criminal record".
The victim then got engaged to her relative and the defendant threatened to kill both of them, according to the 18-page verdict.
On the day of the incident, the defendant saw the victim walking in the street alone near the Ain Al Basha area and abducted her, the court said.
"He forced her into his bus and drove to a deserted area near a graveyard in Sweileh where he raped her, then stabbed her repeatedly until he made sure she was dead and fled," the court added.
The pathology report indicated that the victim received 55 stab wounds to her chest, stomach and back.
The defendant was later summoned by police and confessed to the incident, but pled not guilty to the charges during his opening trial, the court verdict stated.
The tribunal comprised judges Fawzi Nahar, Hazem Saeed and Hussein Tharaba.
The Cassation Court has started reviewing the verdict, which was issued on April 26. (Sources: Jordan Times, 09/05/2012)