ABU DHABI // Three Emirati brothers convicted of murdering two Omanis as part of a blood feud were framed by the police, an appeals court heard.
The siblings claimed officers investigating the killing falsely incriminated them and handed over a list of the policemen they said set them up.
None of those listed were from families with Emirati ancestry.
The brothers were convicted in May of shooting Omanis S M, 31, and S O, 43, in revenge for the death of their brother, and were sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.
At the Appeals Court on Monday, the judge and prosecutors hit out at their claims of police corruption.
The brothers also criticised the victims’ lawyer, who asked that the death sentence be upheld.
They said the lawyer constantly objected to everything they said and claimed his evidence was flawed.
Their defence lawyer, Tarik Al Serkal, tried to silence his clients to allow him to speak.
After they had quietened down, Mr Al Serkal requested that the forensics doctor who examined the victims’ bodies be summoned to court because there were anomalies in his reports about the type of gun used.
He also asked to address the head of forensics at Al Ain Police to ask him why he refused to sign the crime reports.
Finally, he requested that the crime scene video be played to the court.
Prosecutors say the murder was revenge for the death of the Emiratis’ 19-year-old brother, who was killed in Oman by the brother of one of the victims.
The teenager was tricked into driving to Oman by two men who introduced him to a healer, who gave him a drink they claimed had restorative powers.
He died after drinking it and the two men, aged 35 and 58, stole and sold his car.
Omani authorities arrested the two men and they stood trial.
They claimed to be friends with the Emirati and said they had invited him to Al Buraimi to taste a drink thought to “bring luck”.
Their lawyers said there was no proof of criminal intent because it had not been proven whether the teenager had died because of the drink or because he had been strangled.
Tests in Oman suggested the drink caused his death. There were wounds on his neck but forensics experts could not conclude what caused these.
The Omani court said it could not be certain of events and sentenced the two men to life in prison rather than death. It also ordered them to pay blood money.
The Emirati’s father appealed but this was turned down.
When the body was returned to the UAE, tests found the teenager had been drugged and then choked either by hands or a rope.
The Omani courts asked a third GCC country to conduct tests, which backed up the UAE’s findings. But because the Omani court was uncertain about the cause of death it refrained from issuing a death sentence.
This drove the teenager’s family to seek their own vengeance, prosecutors say.
The appeal was adjourned until January 7 to consider the defence lawyer’s requests.
hdajani@thenational.ae
