UAE: Death sentence upheld for Emirati who stabbed father 36 times

A young drug addict, who was convicted of killing his father in Al Ain, has had his execution sentence upheld by Abu Dhabi’s top court.

The Abu Dhabi Cassation Court on Monday upheld the death sentence for the Emirati man after he was found guilty of premeditated murder.

The young man had stabbed his father 36 times all over his body, using a blunt object which caused his death.

The victim had allegedly refused to give him money to buy drugs.

The incident took place after Taraweeh prayers during the holy month of Ramadan last year, a statement issued on Monday said.

The victim’s aggrieved family had refused to pardon the killer in return for blood money and insisted on retribution.

Police investigations showed that the Emirati was routinely asking his father for money, who would refuse to give him money at times, knowing that his son used the money to buy psychoactive substances.

Eyewitnesses told authorities that the accused used to beat his father whenever he refused to give him the money he needed to buy drugs. The young man, who was an ex-convict in a drug abuse case, had earlier been placed in a rehab clinic.

On the day of the murder, the Emirati lured his father into the courtyard of the house under the pretext of wanting to discuss something with him.

“As soon as the victim came close to his son, the accused stabbed him 36 times with a blunt object in different parts of his body,” said prosecutors.

The Family Prosecution in Al Ain had charged the Emirati with premeditated murder. He was also charged with deliberately damaging his brother's vehicle by hitting it with his own vehicle while he was aware of the presence of his father, the victim, inside the vehicle in order to prevent him from getting treatment. The man was also accused of consuming a psychoactive substance ("Pregabalin").

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Prosecutors had prayed for the maximum sentence for the accused, considering that the victim was his father constituted an 'aggravating circumstance'.

Both the criminal and appeals court had earlier sentenced the Emirati to death after he was found guilty of premeditated murder. But the man challenged the ruling to the Emirate’s top court which maintained the earlier rulings.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

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