The State Security Court on Wednesday issued rulings against defendants involved in cases that“targeted national security and sought to incite unrest in the Kingdom,” which were uncovered in mid-April.

In the rocket manufacturing case, the court applied the harsher penalty among the charges, sentencing defendants Abdullah Hisham and Muath Ghanem to 15 years of temporary hard labor and ordered them to pay court fees. The third defendant, Mohsen Ghanem, was sentenced to seven and a half years of temporary hard labor and fined as well.

The court convicted Abdullah and Muath of manufacturing weapons with the intent to use them unlawfully in collaboration, in violation of Articles (3/W) and (7/J) of the Prevention of Terrorism Law No. 55 of 2006 and its amendments, and pursuant to Article (7/W) of the same law.

Mohsen was convicted of aiding in the manufacturing of weapons with the intent of unlawful use in collaboration, under the same legal provisions.

All three were also found guilty of acts that undermine public order and endanger community safety and national security, in violation of Articles (2) and (7/T) of the Prevention of Terrorism Law No. 55 of 2006 and its amendments.

In the recruitment case, the court sentenced defendants Marwan Al-Hawamdeh and Anas Abu Awad to three years and four months of temporary hard labor, plus fees, on charges of acts that endanger public order and national security, in violation of the same law.

In the training case, defendants Khader Abdulaziz, Ayman Ajjawi, Mohammad Saleh, and Farouq Al-Samman were sentenced to three years and four months of temporary hard labor, on similar charges.

In the drones case, the court found the defendants not guilty of the charges brought against them by the State Security Court's Public Prosecutor, citing the absence of the specific intent required by law for the crime to be established. The court therefore ordered the release of defendants Ali Ahmad Qasem, Abdulaziz Haroun, Abdullah Al-Haddar, and Ahmad Khalifah.

The court's decisions are subject to appeal before the Court of Cassation.

The facts of the rocket manufacturing case reveal that the cell, composed of three members, began manufacturing rockets inside the Kingdom and producing their structures. The group established two warehouses for manufacturing and storage - one in Zarqa and another in Amman, the latter fortified with concrete and containing sealed secret rooms. The cell reportedly received training and funding from abroad and managed to produce a prototype of a short-range rocket.

In the recruitment case, the defendants traveled to regional countries and collaborated with foreign entities to recruit young Jordanians. Their operations were clandestine, involving the use of dead drops within the Kingdom to conceal and transfer materials.

In the training case, several young men underwent advanced courses and security lessons, conducted at multiple locations within Jordan, with the goal of preparing them for future assignments.

Finally, in the drones case, four men coordinated to design and manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and divided roles among themselves. They also traveled abroad, where one of the defendants proposed building a glider aircraft, which was later tested on a local farm.

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