17 Indians to avoid death penalty in UAE: Report
"The victim's family accepted an increased blood money payment of 80 million Pakistani rupees," or about $927,000, after rejecting an offer of 427,000 dirhams (some $116,000), the Abu Dhabi-based daily reported.
The offer was presented to an appeals court in Sharjah, an emirate north of Dubai, on Tuesday, it said, adding that "lawyers believe a final judgment may be issued as early as next week, and the men could be back with their families in months."
Under Sharia, or Islamic law, the family of a murder victim can waive the death penalty for the perpetrator. This is often done in exchange for payment, or "blood money."
A Sharjah court of first instance in March 2010 sentenced the 17 to die after convicting them of beating to death a Pakistani man identified as Masri Khan in what was said to be a dispute between rival bootleg liquor gangs.
However, the convicts have "denied any knowledge of the deceased and denied being involved in a bootlegging operation that allegedly led to the man's death," The National said in a previous article.
They said that "they had never spoken to a public prosecutor, and all the confessions were extracted by police after severe beatings," it said.
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@Phajja: Please don't lump few people with bad behavior to an entire nation, race, creed or religion. We need to work towards brotherhood and humanity.
thats really good, i think people need to think about the human execution punishments. Once an innocent person dies, this is a kind of punishment which can not be undone. There are other ways to punish as well,Why to kill one more for the life of one already gone.
The convictions wouldn't have taken place, if you read the full report, if the trial were held in a sane, Democratic country like India or the US. But, UAE follows the Sharia.
I am glad this system has this idiotic loophole of "blood money". The innocents have a chance here atleast. The bad thing is- so do the criminals.
This is a classic example of why modern laws and justice system are the best way to go.
Well I think a proper investigation needs to be done. If an Indian is guilty, then he should be treated with accordance with the law. I don't agree with Islamic Law - you can't put a price on a human life.
@Secrecy: Well said. We are not born with prejudice, it starts in the environment one get's raised in, but once we are adult then we need to do the right thing i.e. wash out the hatred because of someone's race, religion, ethnicity, creed or sex.
This world will be a lot better place if we respect each other the way we want to be treated.
Arsalan! UAE is kind of secular state. I don't understand when the hatred among the people of either countries will come to an end. Don't we have any other thing to do?
Ironic that (almost) NO westerner is ever charged with these kind of crimes in UAE. Often forced confessions are extracted out of 3rd world expatriates who have little diplomatic leverage from their home countries.
I hope next spring brings about some more changes in Mid-East.
End game is good i.e. 17 lives saved.
We must get all the Indians out of UAE. The government must keep a check on the activities of all Indians. They not only do wrong things but are doing activities against Islamic rules. They must follow Islamic rules in UAE or must go back to their homeland.
Good.