Court rejects leniency plea of man on death row

Sharjah: A young man is on death row after the Sharjah Appeals Court twice upheld the capital punishment verdict against him for murdering a man and injuring another because they told him not to speak loudly.

The court found A.D,, a 25-year-old who does not have legal documents, guilty of the premeditated murder of A.M. and injuring A.Y. with a knife.

The Sharjah Sharia Court of First Instance earlier handed the death sentence to A.D. for murdering A.M. and injuring A.Y. The death sentence was confirmed by the Appeals Court, but was automatically appealed in the Court of Cassation which returned the verdict to the Appeals Court again for consideration. The Appeals Court upheld the verdict a second time.

According to judicial sources the crime happened in the Umm Khanour area in Sharjah where a group of youngsters used to gather. Court documents said A.D. killed his victim with a knife because he told him not to talk so loud. A.M. died in Kuwaiti Hospital after suffering severe injuries.

Police said the injured victim A.Y., who was taken to hospital for treatment, told the police that A.D. killed his friend and stabbed him when they told him not to shout. A.Y. also claimed that A.D. knew them both and had a fight with him about six years ago.

According to court documents, A.D. admitted to stabbing A.M. but denied murdering him. A.D. said he stabbed A.M. because he had cursed and sworn at him and also tried to beat him. A.D. said he was defending himself and had only threatened A.M. with the knife. He said he did not mean to injure him.

A.Y. said that he, along with the victim and other friends, was standing near the house of the victim, A.M., while A.D. was standing far away from them. A.D. then came at them with a knife and stabbed him (A.Y.) in different parts of his body.

A.Y. told the court that A.M. interfered in an attempt to put an end to the fighting, but A.D. stabbed A.M., who died due to internal bleeding. According to court papers, the parents of the victim refused to pardon the killer and asked for capital punishment.

A.D.'s lawyer asked the court to recharge the convict and acquit A.D. of the crimes. The court stated that A.D. was not defending himself and intentionally murdered A.M. and injured A.Y.