Three people were sentenced to death today by a Jordanian court after being found guilty of an attack on an Orthodox church in Karak. The attack killed 9 people and wounded 25 others.
In a statement, the Jordanian military said the State Security Court handed down the sentences this morning to the three men who carried out the attack on October 23 in the Hammoud area of Karak.
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According to the statement, they were found guilty of “terrorist acts causing death,” “possession of weapons and ammunition with the intent to carry out attacks” and “conspiring to commit terrorist acts and promote the ideas of a terrorist organization.” The military clarified that the convicted men have the right to appeal the ruling to the highest court.
The attack, described as unprecedented against Christians in Jordan, was carried out by three gunmen in the village of Hamoud. According to police, they entered the grounds of St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church and opened fire on worshippers attending a funeral. The three attackers were later arrested in an abandoned house in Karak.
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the incident as a “terrorist attack.” He visited the wounded and vowed that the perpetrators would be punished “very severely.”
Karak, a city of around 375,000 residents, is home to a large Christian community. Christians make up about 3 percent of Jordan’s population of 11 million.
