ABU DHABI // The court of cassation has upheld the death sentence for an Emirati man who, as a 19-year old, shot and killed his friend in a dispute over a woman.
Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, must approve the ruling for the execution order can be carried out.
A?S was originally sentenced to death by the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance for killing his classmate, R?A?S, 17, also an Emirati. The killing took place on January 19, 2009, in Musala al Eid in Abu Dhabi.
The sentence was upheld twice by the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals before being upheld again yesterday by the Court of Cassation.
“It is very hard, extremely hard,” a sister of A?S said yesterday. “We think this is an injustice. The victim had a knife and they disregarded that completely.”
She said her brother had been armed because he was worried he would be confronted with a weapon.
The two men met on the day of the killing near Marina Mall where they were joined by a female friend, an Emirati, and two male friends. They drove towards the Musala al Eid area and stopped on the way to talk.
During the talk, A?S pointed a gun at the female friend, but she ran away. He followed her and convinced her he was joking. When she returned, A?S shot R?A?S in the back of the head.
A?S claimed he fired in self-defence after R?A?S pulled out a pocketknife. After the killing he planned to flee, but changed his mind and turned himself in. A closed pocketknife was found at the scene.
The two other men in the car said they heard a gunshot and a woman screaming. The woman said she immediately got in a taxi and left, but later received a telephoned death threat from A?S.
Defence lawyers denied the killing was premeditated and questioned the woman’s integrity as a witness. The lawyers also argued that their client should not receive the death sentence because the main witness was a woman and her testimony was
insufficient because Islamic law required two male witnesses, or at least one male and two females, in murder cases.
"The testimony of women is not acceptable when it comes to blood," one of the man's two lawyers told the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance in August 2009.
hhassan@thenational.ae
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
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Second Test
In Dubai
Pakistan 418-5 (declared)
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Day 3: New Zealand trail by 197 runs with 8 wickets remaining
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
