The Federal Supreme Court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced a local woman to death for murdering an American teacher in December. She stabbed Romanian-born Ibolya Ryan to death in the bathroom of an Abu Dhabi shopping mall.
The court’s ruling against Ala’a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi, 30, is final and cannot be appealed. Reuters reported that “executions are extremely rare in the UAE and it was not immediately clear when Hashemi might be put to death.”
Hashemi also placed a homemade bomb outside the home of an Egyptian-American doctor only hours after she slaughtered Ryan. Officials dismantled the bomb before it exploded. The court found her “guilty of placing a crude explosive device” for that crime.
She underwent a court-ordered medical examination, but doctors found her capable of standing trial. They also stated she knew what she did and did not suffer “from any mental illness.” They believe groups radicalized her over the Internet, but no group took responsibility. A few months before the attack, the US Embassy in UAE told American citizens that “an anonymous post on a jihadist web forum had called for attacks on American teachers in the region.”
Judge Falah Al-Hajri lashed out at these types of unprovoked violence in the UAE.
“These crimes, whether committed by an individual or a group, have exposed public security and safety to danger,” he stated. “They also threaten the constitution and laws, and therefore it is necessary to tackle such actions.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.