No reprieve for Emirati in Oman death row

An Emirati convicted in the murder of two Omanis will have to undergo the death sentence as the victims' families refused blood money and insisted on retribution.

The Abu Dhabi Appeal Court upheld the earlier rulings in which the Emirati man was sentenced to death after he was found guilty of killing the two men. The other two suspects, his two brothers, have been cleared of the charges because of lack of evidence.

Brothers' revenge act

The Emirati men were accused of shooting the Omanis, aged 31 and 43, during a road rage incident in Al Ain a few years ago in revenge for the death of their brother.

The two Omanis were shot to death after their car collided with another vehicle in Al Ain that reportedly belonged to one of the defendants.

The prosecutors said the Omanis' murder was revenge for the death of the Emiratis' 19-year-old brother, who was killed in Oman by the brother of one of the victims.

Officers told court the teenager was tricked into driving to Oman by two men who introduced him to a healer, who gave him a drink they claimed, had restorative powers and then he died after drinking it.

The public prosecution charged the men with premeditated murder of the two men and possession of a firearm without a licence. The Criminal Court First instance had previously found all the brothers guilty and sentenced them to death.

The court of appeal in 2015 upheld the death sentence for one of three Emirati brothers. A second brother had his death sentence reduced to 11 years in jail, while the third was acquitted.

Both the convicted brothers and prosecutors appealed to the Court of Cassation, which ordered the appeal court, to have fresh hearing into the case.

The prosecutors had submitted a detailed report to the court in which they emphasised that one of the four brothers carried out the killings while the other three assisted.

The officers said the force had also confiscated tools and firearms used in the killing from the home of the brothers.

The men, however, denied taking part in the murder stressing that they were wrongly convicted. The families of the Omanis victims had refused blood money and insisted that the trio be executed, if convicted.

The father of one of the victims and his brother who attended a recent appeal court hearing swore 50 times that the first Emirati defendant was the murderer.

Source: Khaleej Times