A British tourist sentenced to three years behind bars for stealing another Briton’s Rolex watch worth Dh36,000 and his passport must complete his term, a court ordered on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old denied charges of theft and trespassing when he appeared at the Dubai Criminal Court and told judges he was drunk when the incident occurred.
The court convicted and sentenced him to jail to be followed by deportation. It also fined him Dh500 and ordered him to pay a temporary compensation of Dh21,000 to the victim.
The defendant told the court that he and a fellow Briton were visiting Dubai. Both men were intoxicated, he said and asked why the other man's word was believed instead of his.
Prosecutors said that the 45-year-old British manager wanted to sell his watch and was given the defendant's contact by a friend.
The two agreed to meet at the victim's hotel and went up to his room so the defendant could check the watch.
"He used a violent tone ordering me to hand over my watch then forced me to unlock the safe and snatched my passport from inside. He said he would return the passport if I paid him £30,000," the manager said.
He said the defendant scattered white powder on the table saying those were drugs to prevent him from calling the police. He then left the room and sent a text message about the money.
The manager called police who arrested the defendant two days later identifying him from the number plate of the car he drove to the hotel.
The accused appealed the sentence in August of the lower court and sought acquittal but the Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.
Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
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Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
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Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
