SHARJAH // The fate of 17 Indian men who are on death row for killing a Pakistani Labourer remains unclear amid a disagreement over blood money.
A court hearing into the case was deferred yesterday after representatives of the condemned men and the family of the dead man, Misri Nazir Khan, who was murdered in a bootlegging turf war in Sharjah’s Al Saha’a labour camp in 2009, failed to agree on a settlement after a dramatic reduction in the amount of blood money being offered.
A previous offer of Dh5.5 million by the Indian social welfare organisation Sikhs for Justice Charity Trust has stalled. A new offer of Dh400,000 financed by the Indian hotelier and philanthropist SP Oberoi Singh was presented in front of court.
The defence lawyer Mohammed Salman asked the representative of the dead man’s family, Mohammed Ramzan, if the family would accept the latest offer, but Mr Ramzan declined, saying the family had become frustrated with the lack of clarity in the negotiations.
“We want revenge,” Mr Ramzan said after the hearing. “We will not accept the blood money. We will let the court case proceed instead of settling. Nobody is being upfront and clear.”
But he said the door was still open for a deal.
“If the 17 Indians or their families can convince Khan’s parents to forgive them and accept the blood money for the death of their son, then we are willing to accept the money on their behalf,” he said. “But his family only wants revenge.”
Mr Salman told the court there would be no further offers.
“Your honour, this is the last offer we have. If he wants to take it, fine. If he refuses, let us present our case,” he said.
Judge Yousif al Shamsi said a settlement needed to be made outside court and that this could not be enforced by the court. He adjourned the case until June 16.
Baljeet Singh, of the Sikhs for Justice Charity Trust, said yesterday that the previous offer of Dh5.5m fell through because the Indian consulate had not provided the proper documents.
“We presented Mr Ramzan with the offer after the last court hearing, and we are doing the payment out of our own accord, however we were not granted access to the men to provide us with a power of attorney letter to complete the transaction,” he said. “The consulate did not help us nor did the defence team representing them.”
A source in the Indian consulate denied that it had done anything to stand in the way of a settlement.
“Some ridiculous figures are being quoted in context of the 17 Indians’ case,” said the source, who asked not to be named but was speaking in an official capacity. “Certain individuals not connected with the case are using this as an opportunity to raise large sums of money. Such incredible amounts have no bearing on the case except that they give a false sense to the representatives of the deceased.”
In a separate statement, the consulate said lawyers appointed by the Indian government would continue defending the men, “pending any mutually acceptable understanding with the family of the deceased and acceptable to the court”.
“Safeguarding the interests of the 17 accused remains the paramount concern of the government of India. We are also fully cognisant of the options available to the accused within UAE’s system of jurisprudence,” the statement said. “A section of the Indian community is following this case with a keen interest and is in touch with the consulate in anticipation of an early resolution of this case.”
At the previous hearing, on April 28, Mr Ramzan told the court that the defence team had approached him the previous evening, and had asked him to sign a waiver dropping the family’s claim in exchange for a verbal offer of blood money.
The condemned men, 16 of whom are from the Punjab and one from Haryana, were sentenced to death in March 2010 by the Sharjah Criminal Court of First Instance.
Judge al Shamsi in February ordered a two-month adjournment of the case to allow the two sides to reach a compromise. He issued a similar order at the last hearing in April.
Family members of two of the condemned men travelled to the Emirates to meet them and attend the hearing. The family members hoped a settlement would be reached soon.
“I really wish this will be over quickly,” said Harbans Singh, the father of S?S. “We sent our son to the UAE so he could help the family overcome financial problems. But we never expected things to turn out this way.
“I will never send my children to work abroad again. We would rather struggle in India and remain poor. We are under so much tension and mental stress. We hope we can put this behind us soon.”
Butta Singh, the brother of KS, said he hoped Khan’s family would accept the blood money offer. “When I visited him in jail two days ago, I showed him pictures of his two daughters and he was very emotional when he saw them.
"My brother and I are the breadwinners of the family and now with him in jail, we are struggling to make ends meet."
The 17 Indians were convicted of the January 2009 murder of Khan. The victim was attacked with machetes, swords, pipes and wooden blocks.
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if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.
54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri