Salam Al Amir
DUBAI // The rapist and killer of Obaida Al Aqrabawi was aware of his actions at the time of the murder, according to a mental assessment.
The evaluation was presented to Dubai Court of Appeal on Thursday at the request of the lawyer representing Nidal Abu Ali.
The report found Ali suffers from antisocial personality disorder and alcohol dependency “but it does not affect his perception nor does it hinder his ability to distinguish [wrong from right]. He is fully aware and responsible for his action”.
Jordanian Ali, 48, admitted drinking alcohol and killing the eight-year-old boy during his trial but denied sexual assault and kidnapping.
He was convicted in August of rape and murder and sentenced to death.
Earlier this week, his lawyer requested his client’s medical records be sent to the court from hospital as part of his client’s mandatory appeal.
Abu Ali claimed he suffered from a mental illness, but the court had dismissed this because it was not supported by documents.
However, his lawyer said a mental health report had been compiled by a medical committee but he had not read it.
The report, presented this morning, said: “The killer was admitted to Rashid Hospital’s psychiatric section where he was examined by a medical committee for a week.
“He also underwent a personality test by psychiatrists and their clinical diagnosis came consistent to the committee’s findings.”
A CT scan was conducted and its results were returned normal. A EEG test showed no signs of any epilepsy.
Jordanian Obaida was kidnapped on May 20 while playing outside his father’s garage in Sharjah’s industrial area. His body was found two days later in Al Warqa, Dubai.
On the next hearing on January 8, the killer’s lawyer will present his defence argument to the Dubai Court of Appeal.
