UAE court issues death sentences for 3 Uzbeks who murdered Israeli Rabbi Zvi Kogan

A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued death sentences for three Uzbek citizens who abducted and murdered Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi Zvi Kogan last November, the state-run WAM news agency announced on Monday.

The verdicts came after a trial in the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals’ State Security Chamber. Another person who was said to have helped the murderers was given a life sentence.

Kogan served as the local emissary of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement in the UAE. After he went missing for several days, his body was found abandoned in the desert.

Shortly after, authorities announced they had captured the three Uzbeks in Turkey and “necessary legal procedures were initiated.”

“The defendants had tracked and murdered the victim,” according to the WAM report.

“The evidence presented by the State Security Prosecution to the court included the defendants’ detailed confessions to the crimes of murder and kidnapping, along with forensic reports, post-mortem examination findings, details of the instruments used in the crime, and witness testimonies.”

The three perpetrators were not identified by name, and the court did not offer details of the motive or the course of events leading to the murder.

The death sentences can still be appealed to the Criminal Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court, however, the likelihood of a successful appeal in such cases is reportedly low.

The Emirati Attorney General said that the sentences highlighted the UAE’s commitment to combating terrorism while ensuring guarantees of a fair trial.

Shortly after the abduction, several experts pointed out that the method of using Uzbeks to kidnap people was a known tactic of the Iranian regime.

Kogan’s body was found in a vehicle approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of Dubai, in the direction of the Omani border.

“The case of Jamshid Sharmahd looms large, who was also kidnapped from Dubai then taken to Oman and then onto Iran,” Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, commented at the time.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, which were among the best in the Arab world before the war, have since been significantly strained but did not rupture completely. Israel continues to operate its embassy in Abu Dhabi, and thousands of Israelis continue to visit the Gulf emirate.

However, throughout the trial, UAE authorities have referred to Kogan as a Moldovan citizen, without mentioning any connection to Israel.

Kogan’s body was transported to Israel by personnel from ZAKA, an orthodox Jewish first aid and rescue service, before he was buried in Jerusalem.

According to the Associated Press, executions in the UAE are usually done by firing squads.