Three men sentenced to death by hanging in Jordan over church shooting

A Jordanian court has sentenced three men to death by hanging for carrying out a fatal mass shooting on a church last month.

The attack and the verdict

The attack on 23 October killed nine people and injured 34 others who had been attending a Christian funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate, according to the BBC. France 24 and other sources report that nine people were killed and 25 others were wounded when gunmen stormed a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Hammoud village, in Jordan's Karak governorate on October 23.

Jordan's Armed Forces said in a statement on Sunday that the men had been convicted of committing "terrorist acts", as well as possessing weapons, "promoting the ideas of a terrorist organisation" and "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts".

The three men - two Jordanian brothers and their brother-in-law - fled the scene of the attack and were arrested three days later. They have not been publicly identified.

The aftermath

CCTV footage from the day of the attack showed three men holding guns approaching and firing on St George's church in the village of Hmoud. A second video showed dead and wounded people lying on the ground amid chaotic scenes at the church.

The three men fled the scene of the shooting and were later located inside an abandoned house in Karak governorate, south of the capital, Amman. They refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and wounded all three of them, the Public Security Directorate said at the time. No security personnel were hurt in the shootout.

Shortly after the attack, Jordan's King Abdullah II wrote on X: "The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation. Those who delude themselves into thinking that they can divide Jordanians with their bullets have no chance in the face of our unity."

King Abdullah praised security forces for chasing the suspects "to the very end".

The week after the Karak shooting, Jordan struck what its military said were "terrorist organisations" in Syria in retaliation to the church attack. Syrian health officials told state media that five people, including women, children and an elderly man, were killed in the strike on a village in the southern Daraa province. Jordan said its fighter jets had killed and wounded "several terrorists" without giving further details. Jordan said it had co-ordinated with the Syrian government, but Syria said it had not been notified in advance.

Executions in Jordan are carried out by hanging. The kingdom previously observed an unofficial ban on executions from 2006 to 2014, and another pause from 2017 until June this year.

Why it matters

The death sentences mark the first major terrorism-related capital punishment case in Jordan since the kingdom ended a pause on executions in June this year. The attack on a Christian funeral in a Muslim-majority kingdom where Christians make up around three percent of the population has shaken the country and prompted regional diplomatic tension over the retaliatory strikes in Syria.

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Sources

• bbc.com: Three men sentenced to death in Jordan over church mass shooting
• france24.com: Three sentenced to death over Jordan church attack - France 24
• thenewregion.com: Jordan sentences three to death for deadly church shooting
• ugdiplomat.com: 3 Men Sentenced to Death By Hanging over Jordan Church Massacre UG Diplomat
• freemalaysiatoday.com: 3 men sentenced to death over Jordan church attack | FMT
• malaymail.com: Jordan court sentences three men to hang over October church massacre that killed nine | Malay Mail

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.