Killer of five-year-old Moosa due in appeal court over death sentence

Fisherman who raped and murdered little boy will face firing squad if verdict is upheld by 11 judges.

Moosa Muktiar Ahmed was murdered in a mosque on the first day of Eid al Adha

DUBAI // The fishing boat captain sentenced to death last week for the rape and murder of four-year-old Moosa Mukhtiar Ahmed will appear in the Dubai Court of Appeals on Sunday, prosecutors said. Rashid al Rashidi, 30, became the 43rd person to receive the death sentence in Dubai since 1993, after he was convicted of killing Moosa in the toilet of a mosque in Al Qusais on the first day of Eid al Adha.
Unless the appeals court overturns the lower court's decision, al Rashidi, an Emirati, will face a firing squad after serving six months behind bars for consuming alcohol. Cases in which a defendant is sentenced to be executed are automatically referred to the appeals court. A three-judge panel there will review the evidence in the case before referring their decision - either to uphold the verdict and sentence or overturn it - to the Cassation Court where five more judges will review the legal procedures that led to al Rashidi's conviction.
All 11 judges involved in the case - including the three who passed last Wednesday's verdict - must unanimously agree on the death sentence if it is to be upheld. A single dissenting voice among the judges would result in the sentence being reduced to life imprisonment. Al Rashidi's lawyer, Mohammed al Sa'adi, who represented him at his trial at the Criminal Court of First Instance, yesterday confirmed that he would not be representing him during the appeal process.
Mr al Sa'adi had stepped forward to represent al Rashidi when his original lawyer had refused to defend him because his crime was too repulsive. "I have completed my duty at the lower courts when I responded to the courts' calls," he said yesterday. "I see no reason to continue as the appeals court will automatically assign a new lawyer to represent him." Al Rashidi is expected to be appointed a new lawyer at Sunday's hearing. The case has been expedited at the Attorney General's request since the defendant was charged by prosecutors.
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, al Rashidi is the third person this year to be sentenced to death in the emirate after two Indian men were found guilty of murder two days before him.
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