Man who sexually assaulted, killed 8-year-old Obaida executed 

A 49-year-old man convicted of killing and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old child was executed on Thursday morning after the death sentence had been approved by the Dubai Ruler.
The trial of the Jordanian man, Nidal Eissa Abdullah, came to an end in February after the Dubai high court upheld the capital punishment that was given by the two lower courts. He was found guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting Obaida, also from Jordan.
Dubai court upholds death sentence of Obaida killer
Defense lawyer Ali Musabeh, confirmed the execution on his Twitter page. "Today morning Dubai police executed the death sentence issued by Dubai courts, after it had been approved by Dubai Ruler, on the defendant Nidal Eissa, killer of Obaida, in Al Ruwayya area in Dubai," Musabeh said in a tweet.
The boy went missing on May 20, 2016, and his body was found two days later on the side of a road in Al Warqa.
The convict Nidal Eissa Abdullah was found guilty of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing the Jordanian child under the influence of alcohol.
The Dubai public prosecution has been pushing all along for the court to inflict the death penalty against the accused.
Musabeh pleaded earlier for the court to exert leniency towards his client on the grounds that 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 by his own family which contributed to his alcohol abuse, as the accused claimed.
A psychiatric report concluded Abdullah was mentally stable and sane and thus could be held responsible for his actions and behavior.
The court ruling states that the convict's body be repatriated to his home country after the execution.
A death penalty ruling that comes out of the Dubai Court of Cassation, has to be approved by the Dubai Ruler before it can be executed, as per article 67 of the UAE Federal Penal Code.
Convicts sentenced to death are executed in Dubai by a firing squad.

Execution of 2011

In February 2011, Rashid Rubaih Al Rashidi, 31, was executed at 8:35 am by a firing squad in the shooting square of Al Ruwayyah in the presence of Eissam Issa Al Humaidan, Dubai Attorney-General, Dr Ahmed Al Haddad, Dubai Mufti, a prosecutor, a forensic physician, a representative from the penitentiary establishment and the victim's parents and relatives.
The Ruler of Dubai approved the execution order after Al Rashidi had been convicted and sentenced to death by Dubai's top court.
Al Rashidi, an Emirati fisherman, was found guilty of raping and murdering a 4-year-old Pakistani boy in a mosque in Al Qusais on the first day of Eid Al Adha. He had lured Mousa to a washroom with the promise of an Eid gift, where he forcefully sodomised the boy and killed him by sitting on his back, squeezing his neck and banging his head on the floor.
On June 7, 2010, the Court of Cassation upheld a verdict that sentenced the convict to death by a firing squad.
On February 10, 2011, Al Rashidi was shot to death by a firing squad.
Commenting on the execution, the victim's father Mukhtar Ahmed Khudabaksh had said "justice is done''.
According to the Federal Penal procedures law, executions are carried out in the presence of a prosecutor, a representative of the Ministry of Interior, an official from the Penitentiary Establishments and a forensic physician.
A cleric may also be allowed to attend.
The family of the victim has the right to attend and should be notified earlier to make arrangements to be present. Others may attend upon authorization from the Attorney-General.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Marie Nammour

mary@khaleejtimes.com