Dubai court upholds jail sentences for the murderers of groom-to-be

Five men who killed a 25-yearold groom-to-be a month before his wedding by stabbing him with a knife and a sword, then hitting him on the head with a shovel and a rock, have had the sentences against them upheld.

The Emiratis, aged between 22 and 33, were convicted of the premeditated murder of their compatriot, as well as burning three other Emiratis with acid in Al Warqaa, on March 16, 2015, .

All were sentenced to life in jail. Dubai Appeals Court later overturned the sentence against one 20-year-old defendant, reducing his prison term from 25 years to three years.

On their original appearance in Dubai Criminal Court in April last year, the five men denied premeditated murder and charges of physical assault.

They were arrested shortly after the victim was driven to hospital by one of his injured friends. The groom was pronounced dead on arrival.

“I have never seen such a brutal attack in my life. They kept on stabbing and hitting him for nearly half an hour,” said the deceased’s friend, a military man, who suffered burns to the head after being hit with an acid bottle. He said the dispute started when one of the defendants insulted the deceased, after which a second defendant threw a bottle of acid at the victim’s friends.

“Four of them then chased him [the groom] and one stabbed him in the back as he ran. He fell to the ground, then one began stabbing him with a knife, another with a sword. The third hit him repeatedly with a shovel while the last struck him on the head with a rock. This lasted for about half an hour,” said the friend, who tried to help, but failed.

He said that when the defendants left, he managed to carry his friend and put him in his car, but he died on the way to the hospital. “Before he died, he smiled and told me that he knew he was going to die,” said the groom’s 25-year-old Emirati friend.

Two other friends who suffered acid burns were admitted to intensive care at Rashid hospital and required reconstructive surgery because of the severity of the burns.

The victim’s father said that his son had just returned from visiting his future bride when the killers lured him to a meeting to reconcile and end their old disputes.

An Emirati policeman testified that a woman living near where the murder took place reported the incident to police.

“She told us she heard terrible screams, but was too scared to go see what was happening,” said the officer, who described a bloody trail almost 100 metres in length along the road where the fight happened.

Prosecutors told that court that several bullets were found in the defendants’ possession.

The cassation court upheld the life sentences for four of the defendants and the threeyear prison term for the other.

A police officer described a trail of blood almost 100 metres in length along the road where the fight occurred