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Ammon News - A draft amendment to the Penal Code, which criminalizes attempted suicides in public, aims at cementing the concept of the right to life, which is protected under international conventions, said Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh.

Speaking at a Senate Session on Tuesday to deliberate draft amendments to the Penal and Enforcement laws, the Premier underlined that the "pluralistic" Jordanian Constitution declares Islam the official religion of the state, which, along with all heavenly religions, prohibits doing harm to life as in suicide, and even considers it a big sin.

Moreover, attempted suicide is a punishable offence in many Arab, Islamic and foreign legal and judicial systems, including in Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, said Khasawneh.

A judge should refer any individual suspected of being mentally unsound to a medical authority for psychological assessment. If that person is found not of a sound mind, the court shall consider their mental state as an exculpating or mitigating excuse, he added.

He explained that the crime of attempted suicide in public as in the draft amendment to the Penal Code is being treated as an offence and a full-fledged crime to harmonize the concepts of preserving peace and public safety in a public place on the one hand, and order in the course of public facilities, public life, and the rights of others and society on the other.

He pointed out that the vast majority of so-called suicide attempts are usually not serious and only aim to draw attention or have some demands met, adding that psychiatrists firmly believe that suicide attempts are carried out in privacy with advanced planning, conditions that are not applicable in public spaces. He stressed that the legal system has jurisdiction to decide on such matters.