ABU DHABI // A labourer who molested a girl in a mosque bathroom had his five years prison sentence upheld by the Cassation Court.
The defendant had confessed to molesting the girl, who is under 14 years of age, throughout police, prosecution and court investigations. He also admitted that he had carried out the act three times, which proved he was aware of his actions and had free will, the Cassation Court explained in its ruling.
Prosecutors said the defendant, identified as an Asian, pulled the girl into a bathroom attached to a mosque in the capital, and molested her by touching various parts of her body without her consent.
The Criminal Court sentenced him to 15 years in jail followed by deportation. The Appeals Court, however, reduced the sentence to five years, also followed by deportation.
The defendant cassated his verdict, arguing that the lower courts did not grant his request to be examined by a psychiatric committee to test his level of awareness and responsibility over his actions.
It also refused to appoint him a defence attorney, he said.
The Cassation Court dismissed his arguments, explaining that it was the Criminal Court’s role to assess the need to refer a defendant to an experts’ committee or not.
The Appeals Court said that they did not notice any signs of a lack of awareness on the part of the defendant.
They said the law did not make it mandatory for the court to appoint a lawyer for a defendant not facing a sentence punishable by death or life in prison.
In addition, the defendant did not request a lawyer, and the court would not simply appoint a lawyer for him. The Appeals Court verdict was upheld.
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