Appeal hearing for former Gulf News editor who killed his wife is postponed

A former newspaper editor who killed his wife in the heat of an argument appeared in court on Sunday to appeal against his 10-year sentence.

Francis Matthew, 61, a former editor of Gulf News, was convicted of physical assault leading to death and sentenced to jail after previously facing the death penalty for a murder charge.

On Sunday, Matthew's son — who previously gave a good character testimony to the court — cried upon seeing his father walk into Dubai Criminal Court.

The Briton's lawyer, Ali Al Shamsi, asked for the hearing to be rescheduled so the court could hear the testimony of a forensic expert who could not attend the hearing due to a death in the family.

The hearing was postponed to September 9.

On Saturday, the family of Matthew's wife, Jane, said she had repeatedly urged him to leave Dubai after he amassed debts of nearly a million dirhams.

Peter Manning, Jane's brother, is calling for Matthew to serve his full term, saying tensions between the couple had been mounting for at least a year over their “frightening” finances.

In an interview with The National, Mr Manning said: "The argument was not 'out of the blue' as the defence claim. It puts that night in a very different light. It was not her 'provocation' that caused him to batter her. It was the situation he had got them into. This is a critical issue that must be examined by court.

“They had debts of more than £200,000 in the form of six credit cards and two loans. These were building up interest. It must have been frightening.”

In March, after Matthew received his verdict, Jane's family issued a statement expressing their disappointment and hope that the sentence would be changed on appeal. The statement said that "justice has not yet been done".