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Saudi Arabia seeks extradition of gun-wielding Emirati man

Abu Dhabi - Court documents say the Emirati defendant fled back to the UAE after committing crimes in SA

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court has looked into a case involving an extradition request from the Interpol about an Emirati man wanted by Saudi Arabian authorities for charges of possessing a gun and shooting at the house and vehicle of another person.
Official court documents stated that the Emirati defendant had reportedly fled back to the UAE after committing the crimes in Saudi Arabia. The Emirati man has some relatives living in Saudi Arabia.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, as the victim was leaving his family house in Saudi Arabia in his car, the accused - a family friend - suddenly came and fired two bullets at his car.
The man survived as the bullets landed in between the front and back doors of the vehicle. When the victim sped away, the defendant allegedly fired at the victim's house before fleeing the scene.
The victim's father told Saudi authorities that his son had a quarrel with the accused some four years ago, after which the defendant attacked the victim. The authorities had prosecuted them both for this incident. The father said his son was cleared of the charges, but the defendant was convicted.
Four years later, the defendant visited Saudi Arabia to attend a wedding in the family. This was when the defendant attacked the victim. After conducting their investigations, the authorities in Saudi Arabia requested the Interpol to extradite the defendant to face trial for the crimes.
Asma Ali Al Ja'ashani, the lawyer representing the Emirati, said her client was innocent and that there were contradictory statements made by the prosecution witnesses regarding the incident.
She told the court that her client had consistently denied the allegations against him since the beginning of the investigations and that there was no concrete evidence to prove that he committed the crimes. She also requested court not to grant the extradition request.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com