ABU DHABI // The family of a woman whose husband stabbed her to death after she told him she had been unfaithful objected in court yesterday after his life was spared - by his own father.
IH, who is Sudanese, was convicted of stabbing his wife - also Sudanese - seven times during a row. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay diyya - blood money - of Dh100,000 to her parents.
He had denied premeditated murder, saying he could not remember whether he had actually killed his wife because he had lost his mind.
In a hearing in August, the Criminal Court of First Instance appointed IH's father, MH, as wali al damm - "guardian of blood". That ruling gave MH an effective veto over the execution of his own son.
IH's wife had a daughter from a previous marriage and the couple had a son from their own, but the court decided the son was too young to be eligible as wali al dam, instead appointing MH, the son's guardian. MH told the court in the last hearing he would pardon his son.
According to IH's brother, the wife's daughter from her previous marriage and the victim's parents wanted the death penalty. However, for a person to be executed, Sharia requires a consensus among all family members.
The wife's parents expressed dismay after the verdict was read out. Chief Justice Saeed Abdul Baseer told the family they could appeal against the verdict if they were not happy with it.
After leaving court, they stood outside the judges' office demanding an explanation for the verdict. "We want to talk to the judge," said the victim's sister. "This is injustice."
They were prevented from entering the office by court police. "You are not allowed to ask the judges for an explanation, it is final," a policewoman told them. "You are entitled to file an appeal and that is it."
In previous hearings, IH admitted he had "probably" killed his wife during an argument in which she told him she had slept with other men.
He said she ran at him with a knife, which he tried to take from her hands. "After that, I don't know what happened, probably I killed her," he said. "I just became unconscious. We had a lot of issues and when I saw the knife in her hands, I just lost my mind."
