Jordan court upholds life term for killing of 3 US troops

By

The Associated Press

In this Monday, July 17, 2017, file photo, a badge with a photo of Sgt. Matthew Lewellen, a slain U.S. Army Green Beret, is shown pinned to the chest of his father, Charles, in Amman, Jordan, Monday, July 17, 2017. (Reem Saad/AP)

AMMAN, Jordan — A military appeals court in Jordan has upheld the life sentence of a Jordanian soldier in the shooting deaths of three U.S. military trainers last year.

First Sgt. Marik al-Tuwayha, was sentenced by a military court last month to life in prison with hard labor for killing the Americans at the entrance to an air base in southern Jordan.

Al-Tuwayha had opened fire at a U.S. convoy, claiming he feared the base was coming under attack.

However, security camera video released after the verdict showed that he kept firing as two of the Americans took cover and waved their arms, in an apparent effort to stop the shooting.

The news website Hala Akhbar, linked to the Jordanian military, reported on Thursday that a five-judge military appeals court upheld al-Tuwayha’s sentence.