A court in the United Arab Emirates has issued death sentences for three individuals convicted of the killing of Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi Zvi Kogan, as reported by state media on Monday. The verdicts were announced by the state-run WAM news agency after a trial held in the State Security Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals. A fourth person involved in the crime was given a life sentence. The identities of those charged were not disclosed, but it was revealed that three Uzbek nationals, arrested in Turkey and extradited to the UAE, were linked to the November killing.
According to the WAM report, the defendants were found guilty of tracking and murdering the victim. The prosecution presented detailed confessions, forensic reports, post-mortem findings, information on the weapons used, and witness testimonies in court. The motive behind the killing and the circumstances of Kogan’s kidnapping and murder remain undisclosed.
The incident occurred during heightened tensions amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, causing unrest in the wider Muslim world. Despite strained relations, diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE have not been severed, with Israel maintaining diplomatic missions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Israeli officials have insinuated the involvement of an “axis of evil,” possibly including Iran, in Kogan’s death. However, Iran’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi has refuted these claims, and the UAE has not made any direct accusations.
Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old ultra-Orthodox rabbi, operated a kosher grocery store in Dubai, a city popular among Israeli visitors following the establishment of diplomatic relations through the 2020 Abraham Accords. With a growing Jewish community and facilities accommodating kosher requirements, the UAE has become a hub for Israeli tourists and businesses.
Kogan, a representative of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, was laid to rest in Israel. In the UAE, where capital punishment is rare but executions are swiftly carried out following the conclusion of legal proceedings, firing squads are typically employed for such sentences.
