Dubai: A court on Tuesday rejected a killer's plea to reduce his life sentence after he obtained a waiver from the blood parents of a Sudanese man he shot to death in 1998.
The Dubai Court of Appeal rejected the 38-year-old Emirati, A.K.'s, appeal to reduce his life imprisonment, which is 25 years in jail according to UAE laws.
Presiding Judge Mustafa Al Shennawi dismissed A.K.'s appeal which was lodged by advocate Saeed Al Ghailanni.
A.K., who was convicted in 2005, along with his 30-year-old compatriot A.S., of premeditatedly shooting and killing the Sudanese man, asked Dubai Appeals Court yesterday to reduce his life sentence to one year after obtaining a waiver from the victim's parents.
Prosecution records quoted A.K. as admitting that the deceased, A.M., claimed he had superpowers which made him bullet-proof and based on A.M.'s request, he [A.K.] shot him in the chest and A.S. shot him in the head.
"According to Article 332 of the Federal Penal Code, we ask the jury to reduce the life sentence [25 years in jail] of A.K. to one year," Al Ghailani told Presiding Judge Al Shennawi.
The dismissal is still subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days. On February 7, 2006, the Dubai Cassation Court handed an irrevocable life sentence against A.K. and A.S.
The crime dates back to November 1998 when A.K. and A.S., who was sentenced in absentia and escaped to Yemen, according to records, prepared a Norico Belgian 9mm pistol which they used to gun down the victim. Prosecutors said prior to the shooting, A.K. phoned A.M. four times to ask him about magic, sorcery and superstitious matters.
The defendants picked A.M. from Al Hamriya and drove to a desert spot in the Al Ruwayyah area.