DUBAI // A date had been set for the killer of Obaida Al Aqrabawi to appear before the Court of Cassation - the final stage of his trial.
Jordanian Nidal Ali, 48, will attend his first hearing before the court on February 13. His death sentence was upheld by Dubai Court of Appeal on January 22.
Ali was convicted by the criminal and appeal courts of the kidnap, rape and premeditated murder of the 8-year-old boy. He was also found guilty of drinking alcohol without a licence and driving under the influence.
His mental evaluation ruled out any mental illness and stated that the killer was aware of his actions at the time of the murder.
Jordanian Obaida was kidnapped on May 20 last year while playing outside his father’s garage in Sharjah’s industrial area. His body was found two days later in Al Warqa, Dubai.
His killer admitted to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol that day and killing the boy but denied sexual assault and kidnapping.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
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Director: Lana Wachowski
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
