Wadeema torture case adjourned to Nov 7

The hearing into the torture case involving Emirati H.S. and his compatriot girlfriend A.A. has been adjourned on Sunday to November 7, as A.A. was in hospital recovering after giving birth to a baby boy of H.S. In the next hearing, the court will listen to witnesses including police officers.

Earlier, the Court of First Instance ruled it would try H.S. (29), an ex-security supervisor, and his 27-year-old girlfriend A.A. as mentally stable individuals on charges of torture, confinement and unauthorised burial of a body.

H.S. and A.A. are accused of torturing and illegally confining and depriving H.S.'s two daughters of their freedom for about six months, which led to the death of the eldest, Wadeema (8), and the injury of Mira (7), with a permanent disability of 10 per cent due to the burns on all her body. H.S. earlier pleaded not guilty.

The apparent marks of physical abuse and unhygienic conditions in which Mira was found in the studio flat rented by her father in the International City led the police to the discovery of the death and unauthorised burial of Wadeema.

According to court records, the defendants' brutal torture ways on the victims included assaulting with a stun gun and electric wire, burning by iron box and cigarettes and pouring boiling water on them. The confinement used to be in the bathroom or closet for hours with no water or food.

H.S. admitted earlier that he hid his daughter Wadeema's body by burying it in a remote desert location in Al Badayer in Sharjah without the official authorisation. He claimed that he was mentally ill and was not aware of what he was doing.

A.A. pleaded earlier guilty to torture and confinement charges alleging she did it by herself. She also admitted she hid the victim's body with H.S. H.S. and A.A. were earlier sentenced to one year in prison each by the Court of Misdemeanours for illicit consensual sex.