AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of molesting a man in Balqa Governorate in November 2016.

 

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting a man whom he lured to a deserted area with a group of men and handed him a 10-year prison term.

 

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

 

Court papers said the defendant and three of his friends, who were convicted but did not appeal their verdicts, contacted the victim to suggest they dig for gold in one of the mountains in the area they lived in.

 

"The men wanted to rob the victim and make quick cash so they made up the gold story," according to court papers.

 

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant took the victim to a deserted area at night where they attacked him.

 

“The men undressed the victim and attempted to rob him and in the process molested him,” court papers said.

 

The defendant then left the victim in the deserted area and left, the court maintained.

 

The victim found help from a passer-by and immediately notified the police, court papers said.

 

The defence lawyer contested the investigation’s proceedings arguing that the defendant was subjected to torture to confess to something he did not commit. 

 

The criminal court prosecutor failed to provide any solid evidence that would "connect my client to the charges," the lawyer argued.

 

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the ruling, stating that the court abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

 

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and that he deserved the verdict he had received.

 

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Hammad Ghzawi, Fawzi Nahar, Majid Azab and Saeed Mugheid.