DUBAI // The man accused of the rape and murder of eight-year-old Obaida Al Aqrabawi has refused to leave his prison cell to appear in court. He should be brought before judges by force if necessary, the Dubai Criminal Court ordered on Monday.
The accused, a 48-year-old Jordanian, failed to appear in court. His lawyer also did not appear in court on Monday. The hearing has been rescheduled for July 11.
At the man’s first hearing, on June 20, he admitted to strangling the boy after raping him but denied kidnapping him.
Obaida was last seen on May 20 at his father’s garage in Sharjah’s industrial area.
Two days later, the Jordanian boy’s body was found on Academic City Road in Al Warqa, Dubai.
The accused faces charges of kidnapping a child, threats and physical abuse, rape and premeditated murder, drinking alcohol and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Prosecutors and the victim’s family are seeking the death penalty.
salamir@thenational.ae
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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