Brother condemns pair for leaking grisly video of policeman's death

The brother of a police officer killed by a speeding vehicle in Dubai condemns the acquittal of two transport officials.

DUBAI // The brother of a police officer killed by a speeding vehicle in the Dubai Airport Tunnel has condemned the acquittal of two transport officials accused of leaking the video of his death that later appeared on YouTube. The two Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) employees were cleared last week of leaking closed-circuit video footage of Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed's death as he was rammed by a speeding car while on duty.

The Dubai Appeal Court overturned the earlier first instance court ruling, issued in September, which imposed a three-month suspended jail sentence. While admitting to recording the video, neither defendant admitted leaking it. The video, distributed through the mobile telephone network, was posted on YouTube and deeply upset the policeman's family. Both defendants, AM, 50, and AA, 24, worked at the Rashidiya traffic control room and were on duty on the night of the accident last December.

Fathel Ahmed, the victim's only sibling, said he and his family were very disappointed with the court's verdict and that he would appeal the ruling. "I have already spoken to the appeals prosecutor because this wasn't a fair ruling. "I will try my best to do something to change the sentence," he said. Mr Ahmed said the defendants devastated and humiliated his family with their insensitive and careless actions. "They mocked him in the video while he was serving his duty and doing his job," he said.

"We were expecting a jail sentence, compensation and to get back some self-respect." Mr Ahmed's 49-year-old brother was walking back to his patrol vehicle, which he had parked in the middle lane of the motorway at the scene of an accident he was investigating. Just moments into the video, a speeding black 4x4 is seen hitting him. He died six hours later in hospital. Both RTA staffers went to the deceased policeman's brother's house and apologised to his family for what they had done. AA admitted then that he had the video on his phone.

Mr Ahmed said he was shocked to see his brother's last moments on a relative's mobile phone accompanied by sounds of callous laughter in the background. Sound recorded on the video included crude and insensitive remarks made by the defendants, court documents said. The brother, FM, 52, said that only days after his brother's death a relative, identified only as S D, showed him a video of his brother's death that he had received on his mobile phone.

The driver who rammed the policeman, identified only as MK, was charged with accidental manslaughter and was convicted and sentenced in February to six months in prison and ordered to pay the legal diya to the policeman's family. [e-mail]