Killer on death row ‘didn’t intend to murder victim’

ABU DHABI — The lawyer of a Pakistani driver, who was sentenced to death for killing a businessman in a revenge murder, has said that there was no consensus among the jury in awarding the death penalty to his client.

The Pakistani driver reportedly killed the businessman as revenge for ordering the killing of his brother more than six years ago.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance had sentenced the 38-year-old man to death in November 2016 after he was found guilty of the premeditated murder of the Pakistani businessman.

But the man had appealed the verdict.

Ali Jassim, the defendant’s lawyer, on Thursday told the Abu

There was no consensus among the jury while issuing the sentence, which renders the ruling to be null and void.” Ali Jassim, Defence lawyer

Dhabi Appeal Court that there were contradictions in the prosecution statements on how the businessman was killed.

“Also, there was no consensus among the jury while issuing the sentence which renders the ruling to be null and void,” he said.

Jassim also told the court that the charge against his client should be changed to manslaughter because he didn’t intend to kill the man.

Official court documents stated that the man tracked down his 67-year-old compatriot victim and rammed his truck into the victim’s car in the Bani Yas area. The incident occurred in September 2015.

Prosecutors said the lorry driver also confessed to the police that he reversed and then repeatedly ran over the victim before setting him and his car on fire and then fled the scene.

Officers said the man told them that he murdered the victim to avenge his brother’s death, who he said was killed by the victim in Pakistan more than six years ago.

But in the court, the lorry driver denied he murdered the businessman. He told the appeal court judge at a previous hearing that the fire erupted accidentally as the victim opened a bottle containing a flammable liquid to cool his car engine while he lit a cigarette.

A relative of the Pakistani businessman — who was present in court on Thursday — insisted on the death penalty for the killer.

The relative told the judge that the family won’t accept blood money from the killer and that they wanted him executed.

A sentence will be pronounced on April 16.