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Court Sentences Three Men To Death By Hanging Over Deadly Church Shooting
The three defendants participated in the closed-door court proceedings through video links from detention facilities, while security was tightened around the courthouse during the hearing.
AJordanian court has sentenced three men to death by hanging over a deadly shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in the southern part of the country, as Christian leaders announced the cancellation of all Christmas celebrations in solidarity with the victims’ families.
The ruling was delivered on Sunday by Jordan’s State Security Court, which found the three defendants guilty of carrying out a terrorist attack that killed nine people and injured 25 others during a funeral ceremony at a Greek Orthodox church in Hammoud village, Karak governorate, on October 23.
The attack, which shocked the Muslim-majority kingdom, occurred when gunmen stormed the church during the funeral, opening fire on mourners and leaving several people dead and others wounded.
According to authorities, the three principal suspects, comprising two Jordanian brothers and their relative by marriage, fled the scene after the attack but were arrested three days later.
Officials described the suspects as followers of a hardline Islamist ideology.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Jordanian military confirmed the death sentences, saying the State Security Court had handed down the punishment against the three men responsible for the attack.
“The State Security Court issued its ruling, sentencing to death the three criminals who carried out the terrorist attack” at the church, the military said.
The court found the defendants guilty of several offences, including terrorist attacks resulting in death, weapons-related offences, conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and promoting the ideology of a terrorist organisation.
The three defendants participated in the closed-door court proceedings through video links from detention facilities, while security was tightened around the courthouse during the hearing.
Reacting to the judgment, Amer Halaseh, a lawyer representing the victims’ families, said the ruling reflected the gravity of the attack and the devastating consequences for the affected families.
“The ruling reflects the scale of the disaster and the terrorist crime that took place,” Halaseh said.
The court also sentenced two other men to six years in prison each for allegedly selling weapons to the attackers, according to the lawyer.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Christian community has cancelled its Christmas celebrations following the tragedy, with the Council of Church Leaders announcing the decision on Sunday as a mark of mourning and solidarity with the families of those killed.
In its announcement, the council declared the “cancellation of all Christmas celebrations”, urging churches across the country to observe the season in a subdued manner while remembering the victims.
The church leaders encouraged congregations to retain their Christmas trees but make them “a symbol of hope, unity and peace”.
They also called on Christians to “light candles in memory of the souls of the martyrs”, as the community continues to mourn those killed in the attack.
The shooting has drawn widespread condemnation in Jordan, where Christians account for approximately three per cent of the population in the predominantly Muslim kingdom.
In response to the attack, Jordan also launched military strikes against “terrorist organisations” operating in neighbouring Syria.
Jordanian authorities claimed that the retaliatory operations killed more than 20 jihadists. However, the military action reportedly triggered a brief diplomatic crisis between Amman and Damascus.
The latest incident has also revived memories of previous deadly attacks in Karak, which experienced a wave of violence in 2016, most of which authorities blamed on the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.
