The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday issued its rulings against 17 defendants whom it have been trying over the past few months for brutally assaulting a 16-year-old boy in Zarqa in October last year, gouging one of his eyes and chopping off his forearms.

The State Security Court hands down death penalty to 6 defendants including a fugitive. The court also handed down a 15-year prison sentence to one of the defendants, while another received a 10-year prison sentence. Two others were sentenced to one-year prison term. 7 other defendants have been acquitted by the court. 

The gruesome and unprecedented attack left the nation in shock for its brutality and sparked wide public uproar. Over the course of five months, the court heard from 26 public prosecution witnesses.

The defendants, including a fugitive, faced serious charges, including terrorism and spreading fear among the public, gang formation, rape, kidnapping, causing a permanent disability, possessing a firearms without license, resisting security forces and attempted murder.

The assault took place in the Hashemeih district of the eastern Zarqa governorate when a group of persons kidnapped the boy from the street and took him to an open area and committed their attack.

After the assault, he was thrown in the open with the nearest hospital 7 kilometers away before he was rescued by passersby.

The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday issued its rulings against 17 defendants whom it have been trying over the past few months for brutally assaulting a 16-year-old boy in Zarqa in October last year, gouging one of his eyes and chopping off his forearms.

The State Security Court hands down death penalty to 6 defendants including a fugitive. The court also handed down a 15-year prison sentence to one of the defendants, while another received a 10-year prison sentence. Two others were sentenced to one-year prison term. 7 other defendants have been acquitted by the court. 

The gruesome and unprecedented attack left the nation in shock for its brutality and sparked wide public uproar. Over the course of five months, the court heard from 26 public prosecution witnesses.

The defendants, including a fugitive, faced serious charges, including terrorism and spreading fear among the public, gang formation, rape, kidnapping, causing a permanent disability, possessing a firearms without license, resisting security forces and attempted murder.

The assault took place in the Hashemeih district of the eastern Zarqa governorate when a group of persons kidnapped the boy from the street and took him to an open area and committed their attack.

After the assault, he was thrown in the open with the nearest hospital 7 kilometers away before he was rescued by passersby.