Murder charge reduced, court finds victim brought shame to family

By Rana Husseini

AMMAN –– A 29-year-old man walked free from the Criminal Court on Thursday after receiving a reduced sentence for killing his pregnant cousin in Deir Alla in June 2001 in the name of family honour.

The charges of premeditated murder against Jamal Mahmoud were reduced to a misdemeanour by the tribunal, as stipulated in Article 98 of the Penal Code, because the defendant's actions were committed in a fit of fury.

The court said the victim, Basma S., began an affair with a man and became pregnant six months prior to her death.

When her pregnancy was revealed on June 13 of last year, she sought refuge with one of her uncles who then arranged for her to get engaged to the father of the child.

Their marriage was to take place a week later, “but the defendant did not approve of this wedding, especially after hearing from people that his cousin was pregnant,” the court said.

On June 15, the defendant headed to his uncle's house, where the victim was alone, and started questioning her about her pregnancy, according to the court's findings.

“Basma told me that it was none of my business because she was engaged and about to get married, which enraged me, and I stabbed her with a knife I was carrying,” the court said, quoting the defendant.

The victim attempted to flee the house, but Mahmoud followed her and smashed her skull with a brick on the threshold of the entrance to his uncle's house.

Mahmoud then stabbed her repeatedly until she died and then informed his family that he cleansed their honour, the court added.

The victim's dangerous and unlawful actions [of becoming pregnant while unmarried] brought shame and disgrace to her family, the court ruled on Thursday.

Her actions caused Mahmoud to lose his temper and to stab her to death without realising the consequences of his actions, the court stated.

The tribunal also decided to acquit the defendant of abortion charges “because his intentions were aimed at killing his cousin who brought him disgrace, and not the infant inside her.” The father of the victim dropped charges against the defendant in earlier court sessions.

Friday-Saturday, May 17-18, 2002