Boy’s murder: Lawyer’s absence delays case
JUDGE ORDERS PUBLIC PROSECUTION TO ARRANGE A COURT-APPOINTED LAWYER TO DEFEND ACCUSED AT NEXT HEARING ON MARCH 7
The second hearing in the rape and murder case of a Pakistani boy resumed at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of Appeals yesterday, but the absence of a defence lawyer angered the presiding judge.
The boy’s father had demanded the death penalty for the accused and a speedy judgement as the family is suffering mental trauma.
The 11-year-old Pakistani boy, Azan Majid Janjua, was raped and murdered by his uncle in May last year on his building’s rooftop.
The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance imposed the death penalty last November.
Family present in court
The boy’s Pakistani father, Dr Majid Janjua, Russian mother, grandfather were present in court yesterday as was the accused Mohsen Bilal, 34. The public prosecution, however, failed to arrange for a defence lawyer, which forced the hearing to be adjourned.
The presiding judge of the Appeals Court had last month ordered the public prosecution to appoint a court lawyer. He had also told the accused that whatever he would like to say in his defence could be prepared and submitted through the court-appointed lawyer. The presiding judge once again ordered the public prosecution to arrange for a lawyer at the next hearing on March 7.
Speaking to Gulf News , Dr Janjua said, “We are saddened that no lawyer could be arranged for the accused though the judge had ordered the same last month.
“Because of the case stretching, we are going through so much mental torture and trauma and we want him [the accused] to be hanged and finish the case as quickly as possible,” he said.
He kept demanding that the murderer of his son should be hanged in public. “Now we are going to the Public Prosecution to inquire about the reasons for not appointing a lawyer who can defend the accused,” the father said.
Guilty on all counts
Earlier, the Court of First Instance sentenced the accused to death and payment of Dh200,000 in blood money to the family which has undergone extreme trauma.
The First Instance Court had found the accused guilty on all counts — of wearing an abaya [to disguise his identity], driving a car without a number plate and raping and strangling the boy with a rope.
The boy went missing in May last year after he left his house to go to the mosque for Asr prayers.
Witnesses said they saw him leave the mosque but the boy never reached home.
His body was discovered next morning on the rooftop of the building, where he and his family lived, by AC technicians who had gone to the area to attend to a malfunctioning unit.