Torture dad accused of murdering daughter fails to show up in court

A father accused of torturing and killing his 8-year-old daughter with the help of his pregnant girlfriend has failed to show at his trial.

DUBAI // A father accused of torturing and killing his 8-year-old daughter with the help of his pregnant girlfriend today failed to show at his trial before the Dubai Criminal Court.

Court sources said that both defendants were still being evaluated at Rashid Hospital after claiming they were mentally unstable at the time of the girl's death, and that medical reports were still being finalised.

The pair have been charged with imprisoning and torturing the man's two daughters, Wadeema, 8, and Mira, 7. They are also charged with hiding the body of Wadeema after her death, burying the body without the proper permits and torturing Mira, causing her a 10 per cent permanent disability.

The father, 29-year-old HS, previously denied all charges, but admitted burying the body. He claimed previously that he was mentally unwell and that he had been receiving treatment at Al Khaleej Medical Centre. He said that both the centre and the police's anti-narcotics department would be able to confirm this.

His girlfriend, AM, previously confessed to all the charges before the presiding judge, Maher Salemeh. She said she suffered from schizophrenia and that she had no realisation of the severity of her actions at the time of the girl's death.

The couple are accused of burning the girls with irons and cigarettes in their studio apartment in International City. They are said to have poured boiling water on the girls, and beaten them with sticks, electrical wires and bars. Prosecutors said they also used an electrical stun gun on the girls.

When Wadeema died from her injuries, she was wrapped in a white cloth and buried in the desert in Sharjah.

The court was scheduled yesterday to hear the testimony of Wadeema's surviving younger sister, Mira, who was also tortured.

The trial was adjourned to August 5.