New trial for Westerner in mosque abuse
A court of cassation in Abu Dhabi rejected a month-jail sentence against a Western engineer accused of abusing mosques and ordered a new trial by an appeals court, newspapers reported on Wednesday.
In February, a court of first instance sentenced the defendant to one month in prison, which was upheld by an appeals court.
But the court of cassation on Tuesday ordered a retrial of the defendant by a new panel of judges on the grounds the initial court sessions were flawed because he was interrogated in the absence of an interpreter.
During Tuesday’s hearings, the defence lawyer requested a dictionary to accurately define a swearing word used by the defendant when he found there is a delay in a mosque project he was supervising.
The dictionary showed that the word “damn” means to be thrown in hell. But it also can be said in a moment of anger.
The unnamed engineer told court that he did not mean to abuse a holy place and that he only was upset because of the delay in implementing the project.
“He told the judge he was mad because he was keen to finish the project on time and ensure construction work is perfect,” Alkhaleej daily said.
“The appeals court began hearings into the case on Tuesday with a new panel of judges after the case was referred to it by the court of cassation, which overturned a previous sentence to jail the defendant for one month.”
During trial in February, the engineer stressed that he did not mean to insult Islam and its shrines and that he respects the religion and the UAE’s beliefs.