Two doctors to comment on forensic report in torture case

Dubai Two lawyers will produce doctors in court to respond to what they described as ‘insufficient forensic report’ in a case involving 13 policemen charged with allegedly torturing a detainee to death.

The thirteen Dubai Police policemen earlier denied before the Dubai Court of First Instance the charges of torture and extensive beatings during an interrogation which reportedly led to the Pakistani man’s, B.K., death and injured two others.

Advocates Eisa Bin Haidar and Ali Musabeh Dahi asked Presiding Judge Mohammad Jamal Kamal in courtroom nine on Tuesday to grant them permission to bring in the specialised doctors to testify in court.

'Insufficient findings'

“We ask the court to permit us to bring in two doctors, who work in two different hospitals in Dubai, to give in their response to what we believe is the insufficient findings that the forensic doctors mentioned in his report. The doctors will be defence witnesses,” advocate Dahi told the court.

Presiding Judge Kamal adjourned the case until March 20 to hear the defence witnesses.

At an earlier hearing, the Egyptian forensic doctor [who carried out the autopsy and prepared the forensic report] cited ‘criminal suspicion’ when he testified in a court.

“The duty officer in Naif Police Station informed me about a detainee’s death over the phone. After obtaining prosecutors’ permission, I carried out the autopsy that showed signs of beating on the victim’s body and which indicated a criminal suspicion. The autopsy also confirmed that the death happened under investigation immediately after he passed out.

Strong blow to the head

The main cause of death was a severe bleeding that happened in the head following a strong blow,” said Dubai Police’s forensic doctor before the court.

The suspects, including a lieutenant colonel, six lieutenants and six officers, pleaded innocent when they defended themselves in court.

The forensic doctor also said: “The victim’s bruises were caused by hands and hard tools and happened within a day or two before the death. I mentioned all that in my forensic report. The main cause of the death was the head injury and not the injuries caused by the hand beatings.”

Prosecutors charged the defendants, eight Emiratis, two Pakistanis and two Omanis, with various charges including abuse of power, unlawful detention of the deceased, BK, and his two compatriots, torture, extensive use of force during interrogation, forgery and giving a false statement during official questioning by a public prosecutor.

Bleeding in the brain

Dubai Police’s forensic report confirmed that B.K. died due to extensive beating which caused acute bleeding in his brain.

B.K.’s injured compatriots were identified as 38-year-old S.H. and 33-year-old M.S.