Man to be executed for killing prostitute in Dubai

Appeals Court rejects murderer’s appeal, confirms capital punishment against Pakistani

Dubai: A man, who slit a prostitute’s neck and stole her following a row over money, will face a firing squad after his appeal to have his sentence commuted was rejected on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Pakistani murderer, A.K., was convicted of premeditatedly slitting the Uzbek prostitute’s neck thrice and stealing her Dh200 and two mobiles.

Despite having pleaded not guilty and contending that he didn’t intend to kill her, the Dubai Appeal Court on Wednesday rejected A.K.’s appeal and confirmed his death sentence.

“The court has dismissed the appeal of the defendant, who will be executed, after the judges unanimously agreed to that,” said presiding judge Mustafa Al Shennawi.

Senior Chief Prosecutor Yousuf Foulaz, Head of Deira Prosecution, sought the death penalty against A.K.

Records said the accused commit the crime in cold blood and he immediately went to a mosque for prayer after the murder.

The Court of First Instance’s three judges had unanimously agreed on the death penalty.

According to the Criminal Procedures Law, the death penalty still has to be approved by five judges from the Cassation Court for it to be carried out.

The legal period for the defendant to appeal the appellate verdict before Dubai’s highest court is 30 days.

A.K.’s court-appointed lawyer told the court that his client did not have the strength to kill the Uzbek woman.

“It would have been impossible for A.K., who is short and skinny, to have killed such an oversized woman,” the lawyer contended.

A.K. did not have any intention to steal or to kill the victim, according to the lawyer.

“She was a sex worker. My client went to her flat and he didn’t even have sex with her. She stole his Dh6000... the money which he was accused of stealing belonged to him. This is a case of beating which led to death,” the lawyer argued.

Despite the waiver that the defendant obtained from the victim’s parents, the court still upheld the death sentence.

Court records said A.K. purchased a medium-sized knife and attacked the woman from behind in her flat.

When questioned by prosecutors, A.K. claimed: “She deserved to die because she made me drunk and robbed me.”

The murder only came to light after the victim’s Afghan husband asked his friend to check on her as her mobile was switched off. The friend then stumbled upon her dead body in the flat.

Source: GulfNews, December 19, 2012

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