Jordan teenager has hands hacked off in gang attack

A Jordanian teenager has had his hands hacked off and his eyes gouged out during a revenge gang attack in Zarqa city on Tuesday. The 16-year-old victim was treated at Zarqa Government Hospital, where his forearms were amputated.

The assault was filmed by one of the attackers and circulated on social media. It is said to have been motivated by the murder of a gang member’s uncle by the victim’s father, claimed an eyewitness cited by Al-Arabiya.

The boy was apparently on his way to buy bread when he was kidnapped by ten gang members and taken to a remote area of the city. There, the 16-year-old said, the gang hacked off his hands with an ax before gouging his eyes out with a sharp blade, whereupon he started to scream “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great).

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Six people involved in the assault, including the lead attacker, have been arrested, the spokesperson for the Jordanian police, Amer Sartawi, told Arab News. Two weapons and sharp objects, believed to have been used to attack the 16-year-old, have also been recovered as part of the ongoing police investigation.

At least one person has been arrested for filming and distributing the footage online. He will be charged under Article 11 of Jordan’s Cybercrime Law for violating a child’s privacy.

The attack has sparked widespread anger across Jordan and several social media users have called for the perpetrators to face severe punishment. If found guilty, explained Sartawi, those responsible are likely to face life sentences.

King Abdullah II has taken a personal interest in the case, asking the authorities to take the toughest legal action possible against the perpetrators. The Jordanian monarch also asked for the victim to be treated at King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman, where he is said to be in a stable, but serious, condition.

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