Cassation Court upholds 10-year prison term for drug dealer

AMMAN — Court of Cassation has upheld a June 2022 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a Pakistani man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of possessing 62 kilogrammes of marijuana with the intent of selling it in the local market in Amman in September 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of planting and possessing illegal narcotics on September 5 and handed him a 15-year prison term. The SSC ordered the defendant to pay a JD10,000 fine. However, the court decided to reduce the prison term to 10 years “to give the defendant a second chance in life” while maintaining the fine.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt the defendant was planting and possessing illegal narcotics in a farm in Al Lubban area and raided the premises. “The AND agents found marijuana plants in plastic greenhouses in the farm.” 

The defendant confessed that he planted the illegal narcotics with the help of four other Pakistani nationals, who did not appeal their verdict, for personal gains, the court papers added. 

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that “the SSC prosecution office did not provide any evidence that the planted marijuana in the farm belonged to the defendant”.

Meanwhile, the SSC prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and the fine imposed on the defendant. The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the proper procedures in issuing the sentences against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to planting and possessing the illegal drugs,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges comprised Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi and Mohammad Khashashneh.