Dubai: Two Afghans denied in court on Tuesday the charge of premeditatedly stabbing to death an Uzbek prostitute 23 times with knives which they bought for Dh26, before stealing her money.

Prosecutors accused the suspects, 40-year-old A.N. and 30-year-old I.H. of M.H.'s premeditated killing which was connected with the stealing of Dh600, two mobile phones, a DVD player and perfumes.

"I went there and only had an intention to steal from her… we had a fight and I unintentionally killed her. The killing wasn't premeditated," argued A.N. defending himself at the Dubai Court of First Instance.

His associate, I.H, also pleaded not guilty against the premeditated murder charge. They also denied the charge of unlawfully locking up a 42-year-old Uzbek woman, N.A., in the washroom of the victim's flat and running away following the alleged incident. N.A. denied working as a prostitute when she defended herself before Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout in the court.

N.A. who moved into M.H.'s flat three days prior to the incident, testified during the prosecution questioning: "I heard M.H. quarrelling with A.N. over the phone… then the Afghans came to the flat and brought fruits to spend time with us. M.H. told me she had been dating A.N. and they broke up several times because of jealousy. That night, she told me, he came to reconcile with her.

Immobilised

"M.H. took money from A.N. and gave me Dh300 … they went behind a curtain in the room while I slept on my bed. I woke up suddenly hearing M.H.'s cries for help… I.H. had a knife in his hand and he threatened me. He immobilised me and prevented me from looking at what was happening. When I tried to break loose, he locked himself and me in the washroom. A.N. then came to the washroom and they threatened me with knives and repeatedly asked me about where M.H. hid her money," claimed N.A.

An Emirati police captain, who questioned N.A., claimed that she told him that the Afghans locked her inside the washroom and ran away.

"She claimed that she broke the bathroom door from inside following a three-hour attempt … then she escaped from the window after she discovered that her compatriot had been killed. We arrested the Afghans in Sharjah after we identified them from the surveillance cameras of the shop from where they bought the knives," claimed the captain.

The court will assign lawyers to defend the Afghans when it reconvenes on June 29.