ABU DHABI // A man who burnt his aunt and uncle to death has been spared execution and instead jailed for three years after the heirs agreed to accept blood money.
The killer had previously received the death penalty at the Criminal, Appeals and Cassation courts. But before he was executed the heirs of the dead couple said they would accept Dh400,000 in blood money.
The case began four years ago after the aunt and uncle returned from holiday in their home country and found their company had lost a lot of money while they were away.
They blamed the nephew for the losses, because he had been left in charge. This provoked him to murder them.
He poured petrol into their bedroom while the aunt was taking a shower and the uncle was sleeping. Then he tricked his aunt into his bedroom.
Meanwhile, he went to her bedroom and locked her husband inside and set it alight. He then went back to his room and did the same while his aunt was inside.
As they were burning to death he stole his aunt’s jewellery and a suitcase hidden in the house that contained cash and important documents.
Police found him in possession of the suitcase and he was charged with premeditated murder. All three courts sentenced him to death.
Reconciliation efforts continued between the two families and eventually a lawyer for the victim’s son stated that his client was willing to renounce the death penalty in return for the full amount of blood money, Dh200,000 for each victim.
The Cassation Court replaced the death sentence with three years in jail and the blood money, followed by deportation.
hdajani@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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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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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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