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Accused in Obaida case refuses to show up in court

Dubai - The court was told the 48-year-old Jordanian would not let the security officers take him to court.

The Court of First Instance adjourned on Monday the hearing in the murder case of eight-year-old Obaida to July 11 as the defendant refused to leave his prison cell to attend the trial.
The court was told the 48-year-old Jordanian would not let the security officers take him to court. The presiding judge ordered that he be brought by force the next time the court reconvenes. The accused has been placed in solitary confinement in the Central Jail.
A court-assigned lawyer is expected to represent him and be given a copy of the case file.
The lawyer, who was present in court on Monday, withdrew from the case shortly after one of his assistants accepted to take it.
The lawyer justified his decision before the court and attributed it to the nature of the case and his busy schedule.
In the previous hearing, the accused confessed that he strangled Obaida, also Jordanian, to death after sexually assaulting him in Al Mamzar area.
He has been charged with kidnap, premeditated murder, physical assault, making criminal threats and consuming of alcohol without a licence and driving under its influence.
Answering a question by the judge whether he sexually assaulted the victim in his car, the defendant said: "Yes. But I can't remember what happened. I was under the influence of alcohol." He claimed he was in 'coma' as he was unconscious when he committed the crime. The defendant said he drank five bottles of vodka prior to the crime.
He admitted strangling the victim with his hands and then tightening a piece of cloth around his neck for five minutes until the boy became motionless.
According to prosecution records, the defendant kidnapped the boy from outside his home in Sharjah. However, the defendant denied in court kidnapping the victim, claiming the boy went with him willingly.
The public prosecution is pushing for death penalty.
The accused is believed to have lured the boy inside his car after fooling him that he would gift him a scooter. He strangled him out of fear he would tell his parents and disposed of the body later under a tree on the Academic City Road in Al Warqa.
Obaida was last seen on May 20 when he was outside his father's car workshop. He was then reported missing and his body was found two days later.
A civil lawsuit has been filed by the victim's family lawyer.
In the next hearing, the court is set to listen to the testimonies of witnesses.
mary@khaleejtimes.com