Omani brothers killed by 'other enemies', not revenge-seekers, Abu Dhabi court told

Two Omani men killed in an alleged revenge attack by four Emirati brothers were in fact killed by unknown assassins, hears court.

ABU DHABI // Police had fired a rifle, allegedly used by four Emirati brothers to kill two Omanis in a tribal blood feud, before giving it to forensics, a court heard yesterday.
And defence lawyer Nashwa Al Qubaisi told the Criminal Court  police reports dated the tests to two days before the Kalashnikov was found.
The four Emiratis are charged with killing the two to avenge a fifth brother, said to have been killed four years ago by one of the Omanis' relatives. The brothers were said to have shot the two after ramming their car in Al Jimi, Al Ain.
At the start of the trial the court was shown a video in which police dug up the rifle. They take the gun from a hole in the ground and place it on top of a stone.
It then goes out of the camera's frame and a few seconds later a gunshot is heard.
Mrs Al Qubaisi said this proved police had used the gun before sending it for forensic testing, invalidating the results.
The prosecutor said it did not prove this was the gun fired.
"You can hear the public prosecutor in the video tell the CID agent: 'No no, you should not tamper with it', then they mention reshooting the film," said Mrs Al Qubaisi.
She said police reports lacked any record of the bodies at the murder scene, which suggested her clients had been framed.
"Where did the bodies fly and disappear?" she asked. "Then miraculously they appeared in front of Tawam Hospital four hours later.
"It's obvious the victims had other enemies who killed them and framed my clients."
Another video played earlier in court showed one of the Emirati brothers re-enact the murder in front of police and prosecutors.
"You can see he is being given orders by the prosecutor on what to do and how to hold the gun," objected Mrs Al Qubaisi.
The prosecutor said the brother was freely re-enacting the scene.
"And [how do you explain] the confessions of the defendants, and them guiding us to the weapon's hiding place?" he asked.
Lawyers for the victims' families have called for the death penalty. A verdict is expected on May 25.
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