Amman - A Jordanian military tribunal on Monday sentenced a man to 10 years in jail for planning to carry out an attack on alleged “devil worshippers” last year, an official said.
The man had been charged in 2013 with possessing explosives and plotting to carry out terrorist acts in the posh Amman district of Abdun, where the US and British embassies are located, among others.
“The state security court initially sentenced the 22-year-old man to life in prison but reduced the sentence to 10 years in jail,” the court official told AFP.
“The convict was arrested last year after contacting a jihadist website seeking help in manufacturing explosives, as he planned to carry out the attack” in Abdun, the official added.
The court has been known to reduce sentences “to give a chance to convicts, particularly young ones, to repent,” another official said.
In 2013, the same court acquitted five university students for lack of evidence after charging them with engaging in “devil worship” and desecrating the Koran.
“In Jordan, devil worshippers sometimes can be considered those who reject religion,” the official said. - AFP