Dubai appeal commutes sentence on British journalist murderer of his wife

The Dubai Court of Appeal has reduced 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 case at the appeal stage, leaving him with the only degree of litigation, the Court of Cassation, based on the appeal of the Public Prosecution or Defense of the accused, who had demanded that his client's sentence be reduced to just two years during the last hearing.

Attorney Ali al-Shamsi said: "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 assault that led to death, and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment," pointing out that he resorted to the Court of Cassation He pointed out that the discrimination overturned the last sentence of the severity of the sentence, and ordered that the case be returned to another judicial body at the Court of Appeal, after it considered that the charge was not murder.

Al-Shamsi confirmed in court that his client had no intention of killing his wife, and was preparing to travel together to attend their son's graduation ceremony and bought the 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's wife, the son, waived the right to sue, and that her father, who died later, also intended to concede, asking the court to pity his client, noting that he had lost his wife and his job. And deprived of his son.

The prosecutor argued that the criminal intent of the defendant was absent, as the crime was multiple in intent, as the defendant intended to hit his wife only, unintentionally, to kill her and end her life.He demanded that the judiciary consider compassionately for his compound, especially in the year of tolerance and minimizing the punishment.

The details of the case are due to a call received by 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, but reports showed that she died of a severe blow to her head, which raised suspicions about the husband, During interrogations at the police and prosecutors, the defendant admitted to attacking his wife with a hammer, but confirmed that he had no intention of planning to kill her.