The Court of Appeal in Dubai has commuted the sentence of the British journalist accused of killing his wife, Francis Matthew, from 15 years to seven years, in addition to deportation, leaving the curtain on the case at the appeal stage, leaving him the only degree of litigation, the Court of Cassation, on appeal The prosecution or defense of the accused, who had demanded the reduction of his client's sentence to two years, during the last hearing.
Attorney Ali al-Shamsi said that «the prosecution demanded the application of the maximum penalty on his client, after being charged with murder, but the Criminal Court amended the charge to an attack that led to death, and sentenced him to 10 years», pointing out that he resorted to the Court of Cassation, after the Court of Appeal The sentence was up to 15 years, pointing out that the discrimination overturned the heavy sentence and ordered that the case be returned to another judicial body, the Court of Appeal, after it found the charge was not murder. Al-Shamsi confirmed to the court that his client had no intention to kill his wife, and was preparing to travel together to attend their son's graduation ceremony, and bought tickets, which indicates that what happened was the result of the moment. He asked the tribunal to bear in mind that the only legal heir to the victim was the son who waived the right to sue, and that her father, who later died, also intended to concede, asking the court to pity his client, noting that he had lost his wife and job, His son is deprived.
The defendant's agent argued that the criminal intent of the defendant is absent, as the crime is multiple in intent. The public right is a maximum of two years, at the discretion of the Court.
The details of the case are due to a call received from Dubai police in July 2017, from the defendant, claiming that his wife was assaulted by a group of thieves in their home in Jumeirah area, reports showed that her death from a severe blow to her head, which raised suspicions about the husband, and during the investigation admitted to attack His wife with a hammer.