In one of the more peculiar crime cases in Qatar, a Moroccan man is facing murder charges following the stabbing death of another expat by sword.
During the latest hearing in his case, witness testimony about the crime was given in a lower Doha criminal court yesterday.
The defendant stands accused of killing an Egyptian man in October 2013, after learning the victim was in a romantic relationship with his wife.
At Wednesday’s session, an imam testified as to what he observed took place on the day of the murder.
He told the court that he was in the car with his daughter when he saw the victim with his legs outstretched sitting on the ground and leaning against a vehicle.
He also saw the defendant holding a sword by one hand and a woman by the other, adding that the woman, who was crying and screaming, eventually tossed the bloodied weapon into a courtyard of a nearby home.
According to the imam, the defendant told the woman to sit in the car that the victim was leaning against, threatening to kill her next if she didn’t listen.
When the imam asked the defendant what happened, the man said “I am protecting my honor,” and explained that the victim had been committing adultery with his wife.
Publication ban request denied
The imam called the police and later gave his statement to the prosecutor’s office.
According to a forensic doctor who also testified yesterday, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance personnel.
After performing an autopsy two days after the murder, the doctor concluded that the victim had been standing when he was attacked, and collapsed to the ground after being stabbed with force. The cause of death was bleeding from a punctured lung.
The judge presiding over the case denied a request from the defense attorney to institute a publishing ban on the crime.
The hearing was adjourned to May 11, when the defense is expected to call more witnesses.
Thoughts?
I wish if there were proper Islamic rulings, so that both man and woman could get proper punishment by Islamic law… i-e woman to be stoned to death as she was married & man also if married or 100 lashes!
Because what the guy did was wrong I mean by taking law in his hands… He should be punished!
I assume you’re being sarcastic??!!
No I am very much serious. She committed adultery, she is supposed to be punished but NOT by her husband… and the Husband had no right to kill that person when we talk about rules & law.. Cultural thing is different!
You’re living in the dark ages. Why should the woman be stoned for this? That is crazy talk and totally out of proportion to the “crime”.
Where I said just woman? I said both of them…. Read my earlier comments before jumping to conclusion.
If Man/Woman engage in adultery while they’re married.. Punishment is stone them to death!
If Man/Woman engage in adultery while they’re not married… Punishment is 100 lashes in public… Each will get his/her own punishment as per their martial status!
and again this just for those who are Muslims. not for non Muslims! and each
and one more thing. it’s not me or you who will decide, Decision will be taken by court, after witnesses, proofs only!
and if proved wrong, then the person who accused them of adultery should be punished 80 lashes!
And while we’re at it lets blow up half of Iraq and most of Syria.
What kind of answer you were waiting for? That after disappointment you jumped to Iraq/Syria situation!
Umm, no. I think that he is saying your thinking and mindset would fit in well in certain areas.
No it won’t at all… Because they won’t accept me ‘Muslim’ since I don’t consider them one! And secondly I’m not a terrorist!
Yes but you share their passion for stoning and other forms of medieval torture.
That doesn’t make him a terrorist tho.
It’s not passion, I just shared what my religion say!
and where did I mentioned that let’s fire/ stone them? I said “COURT” Do you understand the word “COURT” ? Qatar is country right? Is recognized by the world/UN! Their court decisions will be correct.. RIGHT? Then when I shared the law of Islam, Where the Heck I became a ISIS apologist or one like them? or it shows that I have passion for stoning or other forms of tortures?
You people are Sick, you just want to impose your own religion, sickness and sick mentality on others, Just want that other do the same thing what you did/doing…
I didn’t say you were a terrorist I just said you share similar attitudes towards certain aspects of Islam. Also not that it’s related to the discussion but I was raised Muslim yet I still find a call to stone adulterers absurd.
No, I don’t… There is big difference between my thoughts and what they’re doing!
By no mean they’re correct. and by no mean I support any of their activity… My views are as per my religion. and it’s that simple as I said earlier, there are certain conditions & ONLY COURT can punish them.
and you better reconsider yourself
and while we are at it, lets go kill another unarmed black man and then plant the taser next to him. And if thats not fine, lets go bomb some country so we can democracy there. And if that is also not fine, let me take my gun and go on a shooting rampage whether it be a school, college or shopping mall.
Azk your anti-American bias is showing. You assume just because strangers on this thread disagree with your cultural or religious beliefs, they must be American? SMH
This punishment of stoning. (More often given to the woman it seems). Incredibly barbaric by any nations standards.
I’m curious. Do people train for this so that it’s done efficiently and quickly or do the courts ask for volunteers on the day?
My apologies for pointing this out, but you are making statements that you should not be making if you’re trying to apply Islamic law. There is a due process. You cannot say “she committed adultery” (How do you know if she did?), and “she is supposed to be punished” (Have you seen some evidence and come to this conclusion? Are you a judge?). Certainly agree with your valid point that the husband had no right to kill.
You’re getting me wrong here.. All these comments are with the ‘IF’, I just expressed my view about what was supposed to be done rather than what he did?
I am not accusing her, I don’t know whether she did that that or not! Only God knows the reality!
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone…..
Salman, I hope you are aware of the shariah rule that requires four male witnesses of good character to the act of committing adultery before a judgment is made. You may have jumped the gun here!
Obviously I’m not talking about that we all should gather in front of their house and stone them to death. That is why I said proper Islamic laws decided by Court. Who will listen to both parties, see the witnesses and proofs presented by the Husband, and then decide whether he is right or wrong, and whether the lady & man should be punished or not!
The Doha News piece doesn’t indicate anywhere that any party involved were Muslims. Should they still face an Islamic court?
Qatar is Islamic country, Courts here are most probably as per Islamic law (Confirmation needed) but punishment should not be same as it should be for Muslim man/woman! If there is a rule that will be different, and the murderer will face punishment IMO!
I’ve it’s an interesting mixture of Islamic law, codal law and a few other bits and pieces but I don’t know how valid that is.
Don’t know! and probably that is why the punishment of adultery here in GCC is certain months in jail and some fine! Means it is same for all and not as per Islamic law.. It’s their own law!
I wish we lived in a world where men didn’t think that their ‘honour’ resided between a woman’s legs.
A name is given… Otherwise what one do when find out that spouse cheated? Sometimes divorce right?
What name will you give to that thing?
Grabs popcorn
Lol! Leave it… It will just make more noise 😛
Yeah and Qatar should go around executing apostates while they are at it. These people have seen the light and then turned their back. Damn, their free thought.
Yawn.
Wake me up when your BS is over.
I was being sarcastic but I guess you support the killing of apostates
Qatar entertainment scene is missing a chop-chop market :))))
Anyone who places their own honour before the life of another has something seriously wrong with them.
Even Klingons don’t do that
Not even on the starboard bow.
I’m surprised that they actually listened to such an absurd argument but then again there are people who want adulterers to be stoned, so what do I know,
“The cause of death was bleeding from a punctured lung” – Do lungs bleed out that much or is it more likely the lung collapsed from blood around it? Trauma specialists?
I can’t help but wonder what other crimes are committed in Qatar but are hushed up through publication bans.
It really makes the whole “there is no crime in Qatar” chorus look doubtful. There could be all sorts of wacky stuff going on and the public would simply never know.
Can anyone shed light on what type of cases would be considered worthy of a media blackout?
We don’t make it to every court hearing, but since the new Emir has taken over, judges have been a lot more lenient about reporters being in the courtroom, and we’ve generally seen defense attorneys get shot down when they ask for bans.
That said, when there’s a sensitive matter, ie a sexual assault on a local woman, then judges have asked reporters in the past to refrain from going into details about it.
Asked, or instructed? Not being smarty pants, but it is an important distinction and gets into interesting issues of self-censorship and the like.
Instructed. It’s not self-censorship if the judge threatens to jail you. That’s just, censorship.
Name suppression and censorship are not synonymous just as freedom or the press or freedom of expression are not. Most places have some system of open/closed court. That doesn’t necessarily mean the same as censorship.
Agreed, but I was confused by you saying he ‘asked’. I find that the use of the word ask has been evolving recently, in a very confusing manner. People seem to be using ask and tell/instruct as synonyms – particularly among young Americans it seems. To my mind, if you ask me to do something, it is my choice to grant your request or not- hence my question.
I see an awful lot on American news with police (who you would think of all people would know the difference) saying things like “He was asked to exit the vehicle and did not comply so in fear for his life the officer shot him 19 times”, which confuses me to no end. You have zero obligation to comply with someone asking you something. If it must be obeyed, then you don’t ‘ask’ someone something.
Anyway, long winded, but when you said he asked, it sounded like it was request that you chose to grant.
Protecting the privacy of victims is important and is part of the judicial systems in manu countries. Its not censorship. Being a journalist, you should have atleast got that right.
There used to reporting years ago in the local rags but it stoped a while back, some of the crimes were great. The Qatari man who drover his LC into his brother who was smoking against the wall outside his house over some argument over a Moroccan woman they both liked.
Then their was the Egyptian and Sri Lankan accused of illegal relations. She admitted it and got jailed, he denied it and the judge let him off for lack of evidence. Yes, seriously….
Not quite as safe as people believe here…..
The Gulf Times court roundup column used to be something we all read with grins and laughter and it was a shame when they stopped publishing it.
The stories of “illicit relations” used to crack me up.
I wish Doha News would run such a column. That would be the sort of clickbait that would do wonders for their page views.
Game of throne wasn’t suppose to be out till next week
What a stark news it is! Protecting honor huh!
Good – there should be more of this in the western world! If someone was doing this to my wife I’d certainly protect my honor.
In this case you should kill your wife, too. Have fun. There are two possibilities: either your wife loves you, then she won’t sleep with another man. Or she doesn’t love you, then let her go. There is nothing to scratch on your “honor”. What an ancient view.
Ummm, no one would be doing it ‘to’ your wife, someone would be doing it ‘with’. Your ‘honour’ is not touched by this, and you would be in a very sympathetic position in the eyes of most; as soon as you go caveman you lose your credibility.
guilty then – case closed and sentenced!
Well, where are the 4 witnesses of this adultery? He could’ve just divorced her without taking a life. It is more honorable than murder. But ignorance, rashness and emotions, lack of manners, would eventually lead to even worse than that.
Just kick the crap our of him, one strategic kick to the groin area and walk away.