The United Arab Emirates sentenced three Uzbek nationals to death on Monday, March 31 over the kidnapping and murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi and former soldier in the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), Zvi Kogan, in the Emirati city of Al Ain last November.
A fourth person, who aided in the killing of Kogan, received a life sentence (estimated at around 20 years) and he will be deported from the country after serving his sentence.
The UAE’s state-run news agency WAM reported that “the evidence presented by the State Security Prosecution to the court included the defendants’ detailed confessions to the crimes of murder and kidnapping, along with forensic reports, post-mortem examination findings, details of the instruments used in the crime, and witness testimonies.”
Although the court did not provide details of the motive that would have led to the killing, the Emirati Attorney General said that the sentences highlighted his country’s “commitment to combating terrorism while ensuring guarantees of a fair trial.”
It is worth noting that after Kogan was announced dead, Israeli and Western media accused Iran of ordering the killing prior to any investigations and without any evidence being provided, which was officially denied by Iran.
However, after the court issued the sentence, Israel appeared to have backtracked on its allegations. The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation KAN said that Israeli officials believed that the killing was not necessarily linked to Iran but it was a “terror attack”.
