Daqamseh sentenced to life in prison for killing Israelis
Jordan, Local, 7/21/1997

A military court convicted Jordanian soldier on July 19 of killing seven Israelis in March and sentenced him to life in prison.

The soldier, CPL Ahmed Daqamseh 26, was charged with the "Premeditated" murder of the Israelis, who were shot to death during an outing on the Naharayim island on the Jordan River.

Daqamseh faced the death penalty. But the court handed down a life prison sentence because he was mentally unstable, said Brig. Maamoun Khassawneh, who presided over the five-man tribunal.

"The court found that the act was instant and there was no premeditation," he said. He added that the tribunal believed Daqamseh suffered from an antisocial personality disorder.

The court also convicted Daqamseh of plotting to kill Israelis 9 since 1993, threatening to shoot his fellow soldiers the day of the attack and disobeying army orders. As part of the sentence, he was demoted to private and dismissed from the army, Khassawneh said.

Under Jordanian law, a life sentence is equivalent to 25 years in prison at hard labor.

The verdict cannot be appealed, but King Hussein has the power to reduce the sentence or cancel it.

Daqamseh, who pleaded innocent, says he fired at the Israelis because they mocked and disturbed him as he prayed.

During the seven week-trial, lawyers from his 92-member defense team told the tribunal that Daqamseh suffered from a personality disorder and that he killed the Israelis in a fit of rage.

Doctors told the tribunal that the disorder could cause mental instability, and defense psychiatrists had said such a condition could make a sufferer unaware of his acts.

Daqamseh stood silently in the dock as Khassawneh read the verdict, which was greeted with a sigh from the audience.

In attendance were Israeli and western diplomats, human rights activists and former government officials. Daqamseh's relatives also sat in at the 90-minute hearing at the heavily guarded building.

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