[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 17



UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Appeal court upholds death penalty of boy's killer----Abu Dhabi appellate court 
convicts boy's uncle of raping and killing him; case will now go to apex court



The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld the death sentence 
awarded to a Pakistani man who raped and killed his 11-year-old nephew in the 
emirate.

Earlier, the Criminal Court of First Instance had awarded death sentence to the 
man. The body of the boy was found on the rooftop of his building on May 31, 
2017, a day after he went missing.

The appellate court also ordered the convict to pay the blood money of 
Dh200,000 to the family.

The convict, who was termed by the Public Prosecution as "a wild beast", was 
identified as Mohsen Bilal, 34, from Pakistan.

The Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, in his judgement, said, "Mohsen 
Bilal was found guilty on counts of raping and killing and the court awards him 
the death penalty and a blood money [payment] of Dh200,000."

"The accused was found guilty on all counts - of wearing an abaya [to disguise 
his identity], driving a car without a number plate and raping and strangling 
the boy with a rope," the judge said.

The boy's father, Russian mother and grandfather were present in the court. 
They expressed their satisfaction at the appeal court's ruling.

Speaking to Gulf News after the judgement, the boy's father, Dr Majid Janjua, 
said, "We are satisfied with the ruling against the criminal. This is what we 
were expecting. The accused has been changing his statements but nothing 
worked. He lied on all counts," the father said.

They hoped that a similar judgement would be handed out when the case reaches 
the apex court.

The boy, Azan Majid Janjua, went missing on May 30 last year after he left home 
to go to the mosque for Asr prayers.

The Court of First Instance found the man guilty in November 2017 on the 
charges of rape and murder and sentenced him to death and the payment of 
Dh200,000 in blood money.

According to records, witnesses said they saw the boy leaving the mosque but he 
never reached home. His body was found the next morning on the rooftop of the 
building by some AC technicians repairing a malfunctioning unit.

"His body was half-naked and a copy of the Quran was lying beside him," Dr 
Janjua had told the police.

The mother, who used to visit her son in Abu Dhabi, was in the city when the 
tragedy occurred.

On August 8, the 1st trial of the case began at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court 
where the accused denied the charges of raping and killing the boy. As the case 
progressed, the defence lawyer appointed by the court claimed that his client 
was mentally and psychologically unfit at the time of the crime. But medical 
examination reports presented to the court proved him to be mentally and 
psychologically fit.

The accused blamed the Public Prosecution of fabricating evidence against him, 
but the CCTV footage and forensic evidence proved his involvement in the crime.

Azan was Dr Janjua's 1st son born to his 1st wife whom he had met while 
studying medicine in Russia. Azan, who was also a Russian national, lived with 
his mother in Russia for sometime.

As part of a mutual agreement between his parents, Azan started living with his 
father around 2 1/2 years before his death.

(source: Gulf News)