Editor’s son says he never saw his parents fighting
Dubai — The hearing into the case of a British journalist accused of murdering his 62-year-old wife witnessed some very emotional moments on Wednesday. In a very touching and compassionate gesture, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi allowed the 61-year-old journalist to walk out of the dock for a few moments to hug and kiss his 22-year-old son.
“I never saw them fighting,” the defendant’s son testified at the Dubai Court of First Instance. He had specially flown in from London to testify.
The judge listened as the son recounted how the whole family had been planning to be together in the United Kingdom so that they could attend his college graduation ceremony. His father had purchased the air tickets for the same, he said.
The defendant’s three family members, who testified in court, said they came to know of the financial difficulties the couple reportedly had only after the incident day. The journalist’s two siblings testified that the incident came as a “shock for the entire family”. “My brother is a very good man. What happened shocked us all,” said the defendant’s brother.
His sister gave a similar testimony in court. She spoke about the preparations that were being made for the ceremony that was to take place in the same month the murder was reported.
The case dates back to July 4, 2017, when the editor called the police to report that his wife was killed by robbers who broke into his villa in Umm Suqeim 1 while he was away. However, the police found leads that suggested foul play. They confronted him and he eventually confessed to having beaten his wife to death with a hammer following a heated argument. He reportedly told the police that it was not intentional.
The journalist earlier denied in court a premeditated murder charge. The court adjourned the hearing to February 28 when the defence lawyer Ali Al Shamsi would present his defence arguments.
Earlier, Al Shamsi requested the court to postpone the trial so that arrangements could be made for some witnesses to travel to attend the trial and give testimonies in favour of his client.
mary@khaleejtimes.com