No relief for teens accused of murder

The Dubai Court of Appeal on Monday upheld, for the second time, the jail terms awarded to two Emirati teens for the murder of 13-year-old compatriot Ali Mohammed Hassan in Al Rashidiya in March last year.

The Dubai’s Cassation Court had last year quashed the verdict that sentenced the two defendants to ten and five years in jail and sent the case back to the Appellate Court. A lawyer representing the defendants had earlier requested the court to reframe the charge from premeditated murder to assault leading to death.

The Court of Appeal then deemed that the framing of the charges is up to the court and upheld the verdict given by the Juvenile Court in July last year, sentencing the main defendant, aged 17, in the murder of Ali to ten-year’s imprisonment. It also upheld the five-year jail term of his accomplice, aged 18.

Three other accused youths, aged 16, 16 and 15, were ordered to be sent to a specialised juvenile care and education establishment.

The penalty is the maximum according to the Delinquent Juvenile and Homeless Law.

The incident happened on March 4 last year. A gang of youngsters attacked the victim and his nephew outside their house in Rashidiya.

Some of the attackers went to the same school as the victim.

Ali was stabbed in the chest and stomach at least 11 times and he died before reaching the hospital. His nephew managed
to run away and hide in a house nearby.

Ali was attacked even though he did not have anything to do with the brawl that had happened one week earlier between one of the attackers and his nephew.