Life Story: He got life back, but lost a lot in 30 years

Ahmed Mohammed Jassim with his sister and nephew. Jassim says he had to sell his house and land to pay his lawyer's fees as his family did not have the money.

Dubai - The world is now 30 years ahead of what Ahmed had last seen and he is puzzled by its modern complexities. Advent of the Internet and mobile phones that are being simultaneously used for talking, texting and gaming are among the several new inventions that have left him confused.

Even after 30 years, freedom has come at a price for Ahmed Mohammed Jassim, an Iranian national who had been on death row for murder in a Dubai jail, until a pardon from His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in June last year set him free.

The world is now 30 years ahead of what Ahmed had last seen and he is puzzled by its modern complexities. Advent of the Internet and mobile phones that are being simultaneously used for talking, texting and gaming are among the several new inventions that have left him confused.
Therefore, a note, painstakingly hand scribbled by him, in this world of the wide web doesn't actually come as a surprise.
A year after his release, he wrote to Khaleej Times and said that he had lost everything during these 30 years but didn't say what had transpired at the time of the incident and his years in jail.
"I lost my parents, one of my brothers, my house, land. and most importantly, a part of my life that I can never get back," he said. He had read the story Khaleej Times published on his release in June 2015 and he is thankful for the Ruler's pardon that set him free.
In 1980, when war broke out between Iran and Iraq, economic conditions in these countries changed. Ahmed, who was 16 and jobless then, entered the UAE illegally in 1983 looking for work.
Soon after, he took up a job at a watch and jewellery shop. Two years later, he was accused of murdering his co-worker.
He was caught by the police two days after the incident and was charged with murder, entering the country illegally and consuming alcohol, his lawyer Mehdi Sherazi had said last year.
Ahmed was sentenced to death and asked to pay Dh70,000 as blood money. His family paid the money to the Dubai Public Prosecution in 1993 which has never been collected by the victim's family, claimed Ahmed. Today, fitting into a fast-paced lifestyle is proving difficult for Ahmed who is 50-year-old now, despite his elaborate plans. "In jail, I learnt carpentry, painting and welding. I can also make dolls," he said.
"But I need money to set up shop to do all this."
He alleged that upon his return to Iran from the UAE, Sherazi, who had fought his case, claimed Dh260,000 as fees for his services. "He had made me sign a paper where I had made such a promise. My family did not have this money so I had to sell my house and my share of the land to pay him," claimed Ahmed.
"I am left with nothing now."
Sherazi rejected the accusation, saying Ahmed's case was very complicated. "His freedom is the result of almost two years of hardwork, negotiations and travel. I strongly deny the existence of such a letter with his signature."
Ahmed now hopes that he will be able to get the blood money back from Dubai Courts and start a new life. "I was on death row and hopeless but Shaikh Mohammed gave me my life back and pardoned me. His humanitarian gestures are known by everybody."
With the money, he hopes to set up a shop in the small fishing town of Bandar Lengeh in Iran where he now lives with his sister and her family.
"I am just 50 and healthy. I want to get married and start a new life," he said.
Having learnt English and Urdu in the prison, Ahmed is now trying his hand at the Internet.
"People in Iran are good to me. I am moving on slowly," he added.

From death row convict to a free man ...