Four Jordanians given death penalty over drugs killing

A state security court sentenced four Jordanians to death on Monday for murdering a member of the security forces involved in the fight against drugs trafficking, a judicial source said.

Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, the source said the four were sentenced to die by hanging for killing the policeman in September in Aqaba province some 300 kilometres [180 miles] south of Amman.

The four were also convicted of "possession of automatic weapons... leading to the death of a person", the source added.

A fifth defendant in the same case was sentenced to 18 months in jail for possessing an unlicensed firearm.

The policeman had been taking part in an operation to arrest a person accused of drugs possession when he was fired on by gunmen in two cars.

In August, the authorities said more than six tonnes of illegal drugs had been seized and more than 13,000 people suspected of smuggling, possessing or using drugs were arrested during the first half of the year.

The interior ministry says 85 percent of drugs seized in Jordan are destined to be smuggled abroad.

According to rights group Amnesty International's annual report on the death penalty, released in April, there were two judicial executions in Jordan in 2015.