Nine mourners were shot dead at a funeral in a Jordanian church. Three weeks later, three men have been sentenced to hang

A Jordanian military court has sentenced three men to death by hanging for the attack on a funeral inside a Greek Orthodox church in the southern governorate of Karak last month.

The State Security Court handed down the sentences on Sunday, Jordan’s military said in a statement carried by the state news agency Petra. The men were convicted of committing terrorist acts that led to death, conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, weapons offences and promoting the ideas of a terrorist organisation. One of them was also convicted of providing money to finance terrorism.

The men have not been publicly named.

What happened in Karak?

On 23 October, gunmen opened fire during a funeral service at St George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hmoud. Nine people were killed. Reports of the number wounded have ranged from 25 to 34.

The attackers fled. Three days later, on 26 October, Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said security forces had tracked the suspects to an abandoned house in Karak. Authorities said the men refused to surrender and opened fire, and all three were wounded and arrested. No officers were hurt, and weapons and ammunition were seized.

Authorities described the men as followers of extremist ideas, and no group claimed the attack.

Why was it handled so fast?

King Abdullah II said after the attack that those responsible would face the harshest penalties, and he ordered a review of how security forces respond to such attacks. Cases involving terrorism in Jordan go to the State Security Court, a military court, rather than the ordinary criminal courts.

Christians have lived in Karak for centuries, and an attack on mourners inside a church struck at a community that makes up less than 3% of Jordan’s population. Arrests within three days and a verdict within three weeks are the state’s answer to it.

Will the sentences be carried out?

Whether the men will appeal, and when any sentence might be carried out, has not been announced.

What does it mean for travellers?

Petra and the Dead Sea draw visitors from around the world, Australians among them. Anyone travelling there should check the Australian government’s Smartraveller advice before they go.

VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.