Jordanians slam life sentence for soldier "unfair" over killing U.S. servicemen

Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-20 00:40:55|Editor: yan
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AMMAN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Jordanians protested Wednesday against life sentence for a soldier over killing three U.S. servicemen, describing the court ruling as "unfair".

The protesters blocked the roads and burned tires near the U.S. embassy in the capital and in Maan governorate in the south of the Kingdom.

On Monday, Maarik al-Tawaiha, 39, was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor, over accusations of disobeying military orders and murdering three U.S. trainers.

In its ruling, the court said the incident had happened in the King Faisal base in Al Jafer in southern Jordan, when vehicles carrying the victims approached the gate of the base.

Tawaiha, who was in a guard post at the gate, told the court he had opened fire on the cars carrying the American trainers because he suspected an attack on the base.

The shots killed the three Americans and wounded a Jordanian soldier.

The King Faisal air base hosts trainers of various nationalities including Americans.

Jordan, which hosts some 2,200 American military personnel, is a key American ally and a member of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.

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