Dubai court upholds life imprisonment for man who killed his friend in Jumeirah

The Dubai Court of Appeal upheld a verdict issued by the court of first instance, which sentenced a European individual to life imprisonment to be followed by deportation for premeditated killing his friend following an argument between them at one of their residences in Jumeirah, Dubai.

The case dates back to October 2022, when a woman reported a murder that had occurred in an apartment in the Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) area to the police. In her testimony, she stated that she had visited her friend, who was accused of the murder, in hospital, where he had asked her to go to his residence to check on a mutual friend.

The woman who reported the incident said that when she arrived at the scene, she found her mutual friend (the victim) lying motionless on the ground, covered in blood and wrapped in sheets. She immediately called the police.

One of the police officers involved in the investigation stated that he had collected evidence from the scene and issued a warrant for the suspect, who had left hospital and was not at home.

The suspect's father was summoned and stated that his son's behaviour had changed noticeably recently, adding that he had tried to contact his son's brother, who lives in another country, to arrange for his swift departure from the country.

The suspect's father added that, on the day of the incident, the victim had visited his son's house, the 'accused', where a heated argument had broken out between them before he left.

The accused informed his father that he had assaulted his friend, who subsequently died, and expressed his intention to flee the country.

The accused was arrested in a hotel room in a different emirate while he was packing his bags with the help of his brother, preparing to leave the country.

He was first referred to the Dubai Public Prosecution Office and then to the Criminal Court, which issued the aforementioned ruling. This ruling was then upheld by the Court of Appeal.