Man sentenced to death for murdering wife

The federal supreme court (FSC) has rejected a reduce life verdict by an appeal court and sentenced an Emirati to death after he was convicted of murdering his wife by setting her ablaze and dumping her body in a well.

An appeal court in Fujairah had reduced a death verdict and sentenced the unnamed defendant to life in prison, prompting the victim’s relatives to appeal again with the FSC to enforce Islamic law against the defendant, the semi official Arabic language daily Alittihad reported on Thursday.

Earlier, the husband had confessed to murdering his wife by dumping her in a well after smashing her head with a rock, pouring petrol on her body and setting her ablaze in a deserted area in Fujairah emirate.

The man later retracted his confession at a court of cassation, claiming his wife, in her 20s, committed a suicide after knowing that her husband had found out about her relationship. He told court that she had a relationship because he suffers from impotence and epilepsy and that he had tried to save her when she committed a suicide by pouring water on her body.

“The man said his earlier confessions were under coercion but the court rejected his claims and convicted him of premeditated murder,” the paper said.

“The FSC found that the court of cassation ignored the enforcement of Islamic Shariah when it sentenced the defendant to life in prison…it decided that the verdict violated Shariah and that death was the right sentence in this case.”

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