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Jordan jails three for killing sister over ‘love affair’

AMMAN — A Jordanian court has sentenced three men to between 10 and seven years in jail for killing their sister over a “love affair,” an official said on Thursday.

“The criminal court yesterday condemned two of them to death but commuted the sentences to 10 years in prison, citing extenuating circumstances,” the official said without elaborating.

“The third man was sentenced to 15 years in jail for being an accessory to the crime, but the sentence was reduced to seven years for the same reason,” the official told AFP on condition anonymity.

The three brothers, all under 30, had agreed last year to kill the 40-year-old divorced woman from Abu Alanda, in southeast Amman, because of an alleged liaison.

“She was stabbed 15 times. One of them said that the mother of five had a love affair with a man and that he saw pictures of her sitting with the alleged lover,” the official said.

“They burned the victim’s body and set her house ablaze to cover up the crime.”

Murder is punishable by the death penalty in Jordan, but courts usually commute or reduce sentences in so-called cases of “honour killings,” particularly if the victim’s family urges leniency.

Around 15-20 women are murdered each year in Jordan in the name of honour, despite government efforts to fight such crimes.