Jordan: Imprisonment for officials convicted of causing the death of 10 Covid 19 patients
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Roshan Amiri
- . December 6, 2021
- . Update: December 6, 2021 8:46 pm
Jordan– The Jordanian judiciary sentenced 5 government officials to 3 years in prison on Sunday after convicting them of causing the death of 10 patients due to lack of oxygen at Salt Governmental Hospital last March.
The Amman Penal Court sentenced the former hospital director, Abdul Razzaq Al-Khashman, and 4 of his assistants to 3 years in prison while the court acquitted eight other defendants. The decision is subject to appeal within ten days. Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited the hospital on the day of the incident, which sparked widespread anger, and asked the hospital director to submit his resignation.
On that same day, the government dismissed the Minister of Health, terminated the services of the director of Salt Hospital, suspended the director of health in Al-Balqa Governorate, and apologized for the ‘negligence’, describing what happened as a ‘grave, unjustified mistake.’
The authorities opened an investigation into the incident, and the public prosecutor of the city of Salt arrested the hospital director and four of his assistants who were charged of ‘causing death’. Jordanian cities witnessed protests demanding that those responsible for the Salt incident be held accountable.
