Emirati gets death sentence on charges of murdering father

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation upheld a death sentence issued against an Emirati young man on charges of premeditatedly murdering his father by stabbing him 36 times in different parts of his body. The defendant also hit his brother’s car with his vehicle to prevent his brother from hospitalizing his father.

The defendant was constantly asking his father for money was beating him in order to get what he wanted. The victim sometimes gave money to the defendant and sometimes rejected to give him money because he knew that the defendant would use that money to buy psychotropic substances.

The defendant had previously been convicted of drug abuse and was taken to a therapeutic clinic for drug addiction treatment. On the day of the incident, the defendant argued the victim into going to the courtyard of the house to talk to him and as soon as he was at an appropriate distance from him, he stabbed him 36 times in different parts of his body, using a sharp scalpel.

When the defendant’s brother saw the incident from the balcony of his room, he rushed to the hall of the house, trying to take his father to the hospital in his car. The defendant, however, rammed his brother’s car until it became unable to move. The defendant’s other brother, who was outside, called the police after hearing his father’s screaming while he was talking with him on the mobile phone.

The victim’s brother also came and took the victim to the hospital but he succumbed to his injuries. The public prosecution referred the defendant to the criminal court on charges of premeditated murder. He was also charged with deliberately destroying his brother’s vehicle by hitting it with his vehicle although he knew that the victim was inside.

In addition, the defendant was accused of using psychotropic substances illegally. In its pleading before the court, the public prosecution requested maximum penalty to be imposed on the accused, noting that the fact that the victim was the defendant’s father was an aggravating circumstance. The court issue a death sentence against the defendant after the victim’s relatives insisted on seeking retribution.