UK journalist charged with wife's murder in Dubai (AFP/File Photo)
Follow > , , , ,
A Dubai-based British journalist, who was sentenced to a 10-year jail sentence and deportation, filed an appeal against the verdict before the Court of Appeals.
In the appeal, his defence team has sought a shorter sentence stressing that his 61-year-old client did not have any intention to kill his 62-year-old wife.
However, the verdict issued on Sunday may still be challenged by the public prosecution, seeking a stiffer penalty against the journalist.
The Court of First Instance presided by Judge Fahd Al Shamsi reached the verdict unanimously.
The defence lawyer has also requested the court to modifying the charge from premeditated murder to assault leading to the victim's death.
Defence lawyer Ali Al Shamsi told the court: "There is no premeditation element in the case. The court listened earlier to three witnesses from the family who ascertained the couple had been leading a happy life.
"The forensic report also proved that there was no prior intention or any determination to kill the victim. My client assaulted his wife and it happened following a heated argument over some financial difficulties. He hit his wife but did not intend to kill her."
The lawyer also argued that the couple had been having financial problems and he had been under enormous pressure due to debts. "The three family witnesses recounted in court that life was normally going on in the family."
The case dates back to July 4, 2017, when the former editor called the police to report that his wife was killed by thieves that broke into his villa in Umm Suqeim 1 while he was away.
However, the police found leads that suggested foul play. They confronted the husband with their findings and he eventually confessed to having hit his wife to death with a hammer twice on the forehead following a heated argument, claiming it was not intentional.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
Add a new comment