Obaida case: Defence lawyer questions medical evaluation
Dubai Cassation Court to issue ruling on plea to overturn appellate verdict on February 27
Court and again by the Cassation Court, advocate Ali Musabbeh yesterday argued that “the medical report confirmed that my client suffers an antisocial personality disorder with alcohol dependence.
“The report was too general, not very clear and inconclusive … it lacked details that justify or explain why he suffers that disorder and why is he considered a danger to society.
“It just said that he is an antisocial person … It also lacked certain psychological and neurological tests, and had those tests been done, they would have given a clearer picture of the defendant’s mental state.”
Presenting a 10-minute defence argument before presiding judge Abdul Aziz Abdullah and his five deputy cassation judges, Musabbeh contended: “The appellate court should have approved our demand to have the defendant re-examined … we [as defence] had asked the Appeal Court to send Abdullah for a second psychiatric evaluation.”
The lawyer further asked presiding judge to overturn the appellate judgement and refer the case to a new panel of appeal judges.
Abdullah was sentenced to death after being convicted of kidnapping Obaida from his father’s garage in Sharjah and raping and killing him in Al Mamzar. He was ordered to pay Dh21,000 in temporary compensation to the boy’s family.
Abdullah had earlier denied kidnapping and raping the victim, but pleaded guilty to murdering the victim.
Records said the accused lured the boy to his car by offering to buy him a scooter. At Al Mamzar, he moved the boy to the back seat and raped him. He assaulted the boy and strangled him when he resisted.