UAE sentences 3 to death, 1 to life in prison over Israeli rabbi murder

An Abu Dhabi court sentenced three people to death and one to life in prison on Monday for the November murder of an Israeli rabbi "with terrorist intention", state media said.

"The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals' State Security Chamber has unanimously convicted the defendants of the kidnapping and murder of Moldovan-Israeli citizen Zvi Kogan," UAE state news agency WAM said.

Kogan was living and working in the United Arab Emirates as a representative of the Chabad Hasidic movement, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group known for its outreach efforts worldwide. The 28-year-old rabbi was found dead in November, in what Israel's prime minister called "an abhorrent anti-Semitic terrorist attack".

"The court unanimously sentenced the three defendants who carried out the murder and kidnapping to death, while the accomplice who aided them received a life sentence," WAM said.

The four of them were convicted for "premeditated murder with terrorist intention" it said.

The court found that those convicted had tracked and murdered Kogan, with evidence including "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" WAM said.

"Under UAE law, sentences of capital punishment are automatically subject to appeal and are referred to the Criminal Division of the Federal Supreme Court for review and adjudication," it added.