Former Dubai prosecutor recalls first execution, chilling details of 9-year-old's murder

A former Dubai prosecutor has recalled how the execution of a man convicted of murdering a nine-year-old girl took an unexpected turn when the first shots failed to kill him, leaving him alive for seven minutes — the same amount of time the child was believed to have suffered before her death.

Speaking on the Qaf Noon podcast on Arabcast, Aref Boushaqer Al Falasi, a retired Brigadier, lawyer, and legal consultant, recounted the murder investigation and what he described as the first execution carried out in Dubai, believed to have taken place in 1996 or 1997.

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Al Falasi, who supervised the execution, said the perpetrator remained alive after the firing squad’s initial shots because a doctor had incorrectly marked the intended target on his body.

When Al Falasi questioned the doctor, he was told that the mark had been placed away from the heart and explained that it was his first time attending an execution and had struggled with it.

Al Falasi subsequently ordered a second round of gunfire to complete the execution.

However, once he returned to the prosecution office and reviewed the forensic report from the original murder investigation, he had a realisation.

The report indicated that approximately six to seven minutes had passed between the sexual assault of the child and her death by strangulation.

When Al Falasi compared that finding with the execution, he realised that exactly seven minutes had passed between the initial, non-fatal shots and the final shot.

He described the timing as a form of divine retribution, believing the convicted murderer had endured the same period of suffering as his victim.

The case began when a nine-year-old girl was reported missing, prompting Dubai Police to launch a search involving sniffer dogs.

During the investigation, the dogs repeatedly barked outside a particular house, raising officers' suspicions.

Prosecutors authorised a search of the property, but investigators initially found nothing.

Several days later, municipal workers discovered the child’s body inside a garbage container.

An autopsy was conducted, and further investigations led police to an Asian suspect who admitted knowing about the crime and witnessing what had happened but denied directly participating in the murder.

Investigators eventually established that the child had been taken to a house, sexually assaulted and strangled before her body was wrapped, placed inside a cardboard box and abandoned.

The main suspect had fled the UAE but was later apprehended and returned to the country to face prosecution.

Reflecting on the investigation, Al Falasi said one of the most important lessons concerned the police dogs’ initial reaction outside the property.

Although investigators had searched the house without finding evidence, the dogs had repeatedly indicated that something was wrong.

He suggested that taking their behaviour more seriously and narrowing the search area earlier could have saved several days of investigative work.

The case also had the attention of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who, according to Al Falasi, personally visited the crime scene and followed developments through updates from the Public Prosecutor.

Following the investigation and trial, the main defendant was sentenced to death, while the accomplice received a 15-year prison sentence.

Al Falasi recalled visiting both men in prison alongside the Public Prosecutor after the death sentence became final.

During the visit, the accomplice protested his sentence, maintaining that he had witnessed the crime but had not committed the murder himself.

He reportedly swore on the Quran that the principal defendant was responsible and argued that his own punishment was unjust.

The execution was carried out by firing squad in the Al Ruwayyah area, in accordance with the procedures followed at the time.

Al Falasi said the girl’s mother had been present at the location, although the execution itself was witnessed only by authorised officials.

Before carrying out the sentence, he asked her whether she wanted to forgive the convicted man or proceed with the punishment.

She told him she had been unable to sleep peacefully for six months while waiting for that day.

After hearing the first gunshots, she left the area with her driver.

For Al Falasi, the case was unforgettable not only because the crime was horrific but also because of the investigative and procedural lessons it taught him.

He said the experience reinforced the importance of paying attention to early investigative clues and carefully examining forensic evidence, particularly in cases where death penalty may be awarded.

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