Ammon News - The Court of Cassation has upheld an August State Security Court ruling sentencing a man to five years in prison after convicting him of attempting to join terrorist groups in March 2019.

The court declared the defendant, who is a supporter of the Daesh extremist group, guilty of attempting to join the group by travelling to Turkey in March and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant was a strong believer in the Daesh terror group and its ideology.

"The defendant decided to travel to Turkey and reside in a border town near Syria so that he can infiltrate to Idlib and join fighters there," court transcripts said.

The defendant managed to get in contact “with some terrorist leaders and eventually entered Syria illegally to join the terrorist groups", court papers said.

"The defendant took some courses there on fighting and Sharia but decided to return to Jordan three months later because of the intense conflicts,” court papers said.

Upon arriving to Jordan in June, the defendant was arrested by security agencies at Queen Alia International Airport following a tip-off about his illegal activities, according to court documents.

The defendant, through his lawyer, contested the verdict, arguing that the SSC failed to present any solid evidence that could implicate him.

The lawyer also argued that the SSC relied on weak evidence and unreliable witnesses when issuing its verdict, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, the SSC's general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the ruling, stating that the court abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The higher court ruled that the SSC followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and that he deserved the verdict he had received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Khashashneh, Nayef Samarat, Fawzi Nahar and Hayel Amr.