DUBAI // The defence lawyer for the man who admitted to raping and killing a young boy during Eid said the defendant was a victim of abuse as a child. The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday heard the testimony of the three-member evaluation board appointed to establish the mental health of RR, 30, an Emirati fishing boat captain who is facing the death penalty for allegedly raping and murdering Moosa Mukhtiar Ahmed, aged four.
The defence lawyer, Mohammed al Sa'adi, asked the psychiatrist Dr Mohammed Hassan about the abuse the defendant allegedly suffered in childhood and said he was a product of a cycle of violence. Dr Hassan responded that the cycle of violence theory was outdated. "New psychiatric studies have refuted this theory," he said. "Abuse is taken into account, but it does not necessarily dictate future behavioural trends."
Dr Hassan testified that after five hours of testing, the defendant appeared to be lucid. The psychiatrist testified that a brain scan, hypnosis and other tests were performed which indicated that the defendant was a danger to society. "He is fully aware of his actions, he has deviant behaviour and animosity towards children and strong sexual urges towards them," Dr Hassan said. The tests revealed that RR had an average level of intelligence, he said. The court then asked whether RR suffered from any psychological or psychiatric disorders, to which Dr Hassan firmly said "no".
RR has admitted to sexually assaulting and killing the boy on the first day of Eid al Adha in the toilet of a mosque near the child's home in Al Qusais, Dubai. At question is whether the killing was premeditated. The presiding judge, Fahmy Mounir Fahmy, refused a defence request to present the defendant's Indian stepmother as a material witness in the case. Mr al Sa'adi had asked to present her as a witness to the abuse that RR allegedly endured as a child, he said. RR requested that the court ask his family to appear to sort out his affairs in the event of his death.
Prosecutors and the victim's family have asked for the death sentence. A verdict is expected on January 27. @Email:amustafa@thenational.ae
