Sharjah: The Sharjah Appeals Court has ordered four Emirati men, who were spared the death penalty after being convicted of murder in 2009, to pay blood money to the victim’s family.
The ruling was issued on Monday.
The ruling was issued by presiding Judge Abdullah Al Shamisi.
Sharjah Appeals Court found the four Emirati men guilty of the charge of raping and killing an Ethiopian housemaid and chopping her body into pieces.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family refused to pardon the killers or accept the blood money.
Al Dhaid murder
In 2010, The Sharjah Court of First Instance issued the death penalty to A.M., 35, S.R., 32, H.A., 33, and A.J., 30, all Emiratis, for raping and killing an Ethiopian maid in what came to be known as the “Al Dhaid murder”.
The verdict was handed down by Judge Yaqoub Al Hammadi and two other judges on the bench, Hussain Al Asoufi and Ahmad Awdh.
The Sharjah Police had earlier said it was one of the gravest crimes of its kind as it included rape, alcohol and murder.
According to court records, the four kidnapped an Ethiopian maid in Khor Fakkan, taped her mouth, pushed her into their Land Cruiser and took her to the desert in August 2009.
They raped her in Khor Fakkan, dragged her into their vehicle again, before driving to Al Dhaid mountains where the act was repeated.
Prosecutors said after raping her in Al Dhaid the men ran their SUV over her head and battered her with rocks before attempting to hide her body.
According to the police, in 2004, one of the killers had raped and killed a 13-year-old Pakistani girl with two other accomplices. They were all sentenced to death, but he was forgiven by the victim’s father.
Cases involving capital punishment automatically go to appeal.
Representatives from the Ethiopian consul attended the session and followed up the case with court on the behalf of the family.
The next hearing will be on October 27 to issue a final verdict.
