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UAE court rejects death penalty for man who murdered wife

Abu Dhabi - The attorney general said the death penalty ruling was violating Islamic law.

A husband, who was convicted of stabbing his wife to death over family misunderstandings, has had his death sentence cancelled on appeal.
The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi has ordered the appeal court to have fresh hearing in the man's case stressing that under the Islamic law, children cannot demand for the death penalty for their father after their mother's death.
The couple's children had earlier rejected blood money in exchange for the pardon and demanded that their father be sentenced to death for intentionally murdering their mother.
Court documents stated that the Arab man had attacked his wife at their home located in a northern emirate after a heated argument that resulted from marital misunderstandings. He stabbed her several times in the chest and other body parts which caused her death. Prosecutors charged the husband with premeditated murder of his wife.
The man had admitted to killing his wife because of anger that resulted from the long misunderstandings in their marriage.
Eyewitnesses, the couple's neighbours said they opened the door after hearing screams only to find the woman lying in cold blood after being attacked by her husband.
The witnesses said they found when the husband was holding a knife in his hand which had blood on it.
The public prosecution had demanded that the accused be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic Shariah law and articles 332/1-2, 121/1 of the Penal Code.
Both the Criminal Court of First Instance and the Appeal Court had sentenced the Arab man to death after he was found guilty of premeditated murder.
The attorney-general however challenged the death sentence at the UAE's top court and demanded the case be returned to the appeal court to review the punishment because it was violating the Islamic law.
The Islamic jurisprudence stipulates that if a husband has become an heir to the deceased and an heir to the blood after the death of his wife, a son or daughter cannot demand for retribution or revenge for their father.
The Supreme Court, therefore, ruled that the death penalty should be annulled because it contravenes the provisions of the Islamic Shariah law and that the case should be referred back to appeal court issuing to review the sentence.
- ismail@khaleejtimes.com