Jordan – Public anger over the reduced sentence against the Israeli infiltrator

The decision of the State Security Court issued on Monday against Israeli infiltrator Konstantin Kotov sparked public outrage, as the court decided to carry out the most severe punishment against him, which is imprisonment for four months pursuant to the Penal Code, where he was convicted of the misdemeanour of possession of a drug with intent to use for a year and the court took into consideration the discretionary mitigating grounds of being married and to give him a chance to reform, therefore it decided to commute the sentence to three months in prison and also convicted him of the misdemeanour of illegalentry into Jordanian territory for four months. A number of citizens said the sentence was negligent and inadequate for a person who had infiltrated the Jordanian border, particularly since he owns an “Israeli” citizenship, which the court had not taken into account. For his part, Said Diab, secretary general of the Jordanian Democratic People’s Unity Party, said that the lenient ruling issued by the State Security Court against the infiltrator reflects the Jordanian government’s commitment and discipline in dealing with Israel so as not to violate the peace agreement (Wadi Araba) concluded with them despite it being violated by Israel over and over again.