Hearing on Obaida case deferred to February 27

dubai — The defence lawyer of the Jordanian man accused of killing eight-year-old Obaida presented on Monday his pleas before the Court of Cassation, challenging a death sentence handed down by the appellate court.

Ali Musabeh, who is representing the 48-year-old defendant, Nidal Eissa Abdullah, argued in his memo that the report of the committee of psychiatrists that mentally evaluated his client was not clear, satisfying or complete in diagnosing his client’s anti-social character and showing how his condition was affected by his alcohol addiction.

Musabeh pleaded earlier for the Court of Appeals to exert leniency towards his client on the grounds he was showing regret over what he did. He said his client was under the influence of alcohol and could not recall what happened that night. He also cited his client’s claims of being rejected within his own family which contributed somehow to his alcohol abuse, as the accused claimed.

The Dubai Public Prosecution has been pushing all along for the court to inflict the death penalty against the accused. More recently, Dubai Attorney-General Eissam Issa Al Humaidan stressed he would not rest until the defendant is executed.

That same report concluded Abdullah was mentally stable, sane and thus could be held responsible for his actions and behaviour.

Last month, the Court of Appeals upheld the death sentence against the accused who was convicted in August last year of charges including kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing the Jordanian child while drunk.

The boy went missing on May 20, last year, and his body was found two days later on the side of a road in Al Warqa. The next hearing is set for February 27.

mary@khaleejtimes.com