Amman, Oct. 8 (Petra) -- The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday issued verdicts against defendants in cases targeting national security and inciting public disorder, revealed in mid-April.

In the missile manufacturing case, the court applied the harshest penalty among the charges. Defendants Abdullah Hisham and Muath Ghanem were sentenced to 15 years of temporary hard labor and ordered to pay fees, while Mohsen Ghanem received seven and a half years of temporary hard labor and was also required to pay fees.

Abdullah and Muath were charged with manufacturing weapons for illegal use, in violation of Articles 3/w and 7/c of the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 55 of 2006 and its amendments, and in accordance with Article 7/w of the same law. Mohsen was charged with complicity in the manufacture of weapons for illegal use under the same provisions. All three were additionally charged with acts endangering public order, safety and security under Articles 2 and 7/i of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

In the recruitment case, the court sentenced Marwan Hawamdeh and Anas Abu Awad to three years and four months of temporary hard labor, with fees, for acts endangering public order, safety and security, in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

In the illegal training case, Khader Abdulaziz, Ayman Ajawi, Mohammed Saleh, and Farouk Salman received identical sentences of three years and four months of temporary hard labor for acts endangering public order, safety and security, in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

In the drone case, the court acquitted defendants Ali Ahmed Qasim, Abdulaziz Haroun, Abdullah Hadar, and Ahmed Khalifa, ruling that the specific intent required by law for the charges had not been established. The defendants were subsequently released.

The State Security Court’s decisions are subject to appeal before the Court of Cassation.

The charges and facts in the first case (missile manufacturing) were reported as a cell composed of three members who began manufacturing missiles inside the Kingdom and producing their structures within the Kingdom.

The three-member cell established two warehouses in Zarqa Governorate and Amman, one of which was reinforced with concrete and contained secret locked rooms. The cell received training and funding from abroad and produced a short-range missile.

In the second case, the defendants traveled to regional countries and collaborated with external parties to recruit young men in the Kingdom, using secret communication channels, following instructions from abroad, and identifying safe locations to store materials.

The third case involved illegal training of recruits in advanced courses and security lessons across multiple locations to prepare them for future operational assignments.

In the fourth case, four defendants coordinated multiple meetings to manufacture drones, dividing responsibilities among themselves and traveling abroad, with one testing a proposed "glider" aircraft on a farm.

//Petra// AJ