A 23-year-old man who stabbed his friend dozens of times before walking to the nearest police station to announce his crime to officers has lost his appeal, and will see out a life sentence in prison.
On March 15, 2014, the Iranian stood in front of the gates to Bur Dubai Police Station in bloodied clothes and screamed "I killed my friend, I killed my friend", until he was taken inside by officers.
A 55-year-old policeman said a patrol was sent to investigate the scene of the crime in Al Satwa area.
"We headed to the second floor of the building and found the body of the Iranian deceased – in his 20s – in the corridor, lying face down in a pool of blood with bloodied fingerprints all over the wall," said an Emirati first lieutenant, 30.
The victim's brother, who flew from Iran to Dubai four days after the incident, told prosecutors that he received a call from the killer.
The brother said: "He called me on the same day that he killed my brother and said that he expects to be killed in revenge."
"I asked him why he killed him, but he didn't respond," said the 33-year-old.
The victim died after being stabbed 35 times in the head, neck, chest, face, and limbs. The defendant was also found to be suffering from knife wounds in his hands and arms.
Police found the murder weapon at the crime scene with the defendant's fingerprints on it.
A medical report said that most of the stab wounds on the victim were of a penetrative nature and were intended to kill.
"The nature of his wounds indicate that the defendant was determined to end the victim's life. Other wounds on the arms were most likely caused by the deceased's attempts to defend himself by shielding his body with his arms," said the forensic expert to court.
No information was provided about the motive for the killing, or why it took two years to be brought to Dubai Criminal Court.
In June last year, the defendant failed to appear in court, but was convicted of murder on April 30 this year. He was handed a life sentence in jail to be followed by deportation.
The man appealed the sentence, but lost on Wednesday morning when Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.