AMMAN, Jordan, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Jordanian appeals court has upheld jail sentences for two lawmakers who praised a slain al-Qaida leader, but reduced the terms.
The Cassation Court in Amman ruled Wednesday that Islamic Action Front deputies Mohammad Abu Fares, 68, and Ali Abul Sukkar, 45, must each serve 13 months for fueling national discord and inciting sectarianism.
Both men serve in the national assembly and were arrested in June after attending a condolence event for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They were said to have praised the Jordanian-born terrorist leader.
Reports of their actions led to street demonstrations in the capital Amman calling for their punishment. Zarqawi, who led al-Qaida in neighboring Iraq and who died in a U.S. air strike, had earlier claimed responsibility for the bombing of hotels in Amman which killed more than 50 Jordanians.
The nation's state security court had earlier sentenced Fares and Sukkar to prison terms of two years and 18 months, respectively.
