Jordan sentences man who targeted liquor stores to death

A Jordanian man who allegedly belonged to the Islamic State and planned to attack alcohol shops in the country was sentenced to death on Monday by a military court.

The man was sentenced to hanging for attacks that were planned for 2016. The court sentenced another five men to 15 years' hard labour and another to 10 years' hard labour, according to judicial sources AFP spoke with.  

All were found guilty of "committing terrorist acts", "manufacturing flammable and incendiary materials for illicit use", "promoting the ideas of a terrorist group" and "attempting to join a terrorist group".

The seven convicts, aged between 20 and 30, promoted the Islamic State on social media and often met at the home of the man sentenced to death, the indictment said.

"They agreed that their first terrorist attack would be on a liquor stores in Amman," it said.

The group attacked a number of stores using Molotov cocktails before security forces arrested six of them in February. 

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The military court hears terrorism-related cases on a weekly basis.

In early 2017, Jordan passed tough laws that lengthened punishments for members of jihadist groups and those that promoted their ideas on social media.

Fifteen were put to death in a mass execution of March that year in what Amnesty International at the time called "horrific" and shrouded in "secrecy". 

Critics have warned that last year's changes to Jordan's anti-terrorism law, including broadening the definition of terrorism, would be used to silence dissent and lengthen prison terms.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011, Jordan has arrested dozens over attempts to cross the border and join the fight.

In March, Jordan also opened a US-funded counter-terrorism centre where law enforcement officers from partner countries in the Middle East and beyond can practice shooting, storming hideouts and responding to bomb threats.

Agencies contributed to this report.