Man accused of raping and killing boy on roof claims alibi

A man accused of dressing as a woman and raping and strangling an 11-year-old boy on the roof of an Abu Dhabi apartment building has told a court he was at a labour camp in Mussaffah at the time the crime was committed.

The Pakistani accused also retracted what prosecutors said was a confession made after his arrest.

The man is on trial in connection with the death of Athan Janjua in May.

The child was sitting on the roof of the building in which he lived with his parents shortly after prayers and Quran recitation, when he was assaulted.

Court-appointed defence lawyer Hassan Al Riyami said his client’s statement to prosecutors cannot be used as evidence because he retracted it in court.

Under Sharia, a defendant has the right to withdraw a confession at any stage during the trial process, Mr Al Riyami said.

He told the court that all of the evidence presented by the prosecution was based on hearsay and that there were no witnesses to the crime.

“The watchmen said he heard the noise; other witnesses said they heard of what happened but no one was there in reality,” the lawyer said.

Mr Al Riyami called on the court to question the accused again and he asked the victim’s family to reconsider asking for the death penalty if the defendant is found guilty.

The accused told the court it did not make sense that he would kill the boy and attend his funeral two days later.

“I was like everybody else, consoling the family, and was surprised when CID arrested me,” he said.

At Abu Dhabi Criminal Court yesterday, Athan’s Russian mother and Pakistani father repeated their intention to seek the death penalty.

At an earlier hearing, prosecutors presented their evidence and explained how the crime was allegedly committed based on the defendant’s earlier confessions, although the middle-aged Pakistani repeatedly denied all charges in court.

The accused said CID officers forced him to act out the crimes while they filmed him.

Prosecutors described the defendant as a “human wolf”, saying he committed a terrible crime and betrayed the victim’s father, who had helped the man to find a job in the UAE.

The defendant is the brother of boy’s stepmother.

The court was told that the defendant “grew close to the boy” for four months before his death.

Prosecutors said that 12 days before the death, the accused stole the key to the roof of the apartment building and bought women’s clothes for a disguise.

They said that after tricking the boy into going to the roof with him, he tried to rape him, but when the boy resisted he strangled him.

Prosecutors said they had enough evidence to convict the defendant, and that surveillance cameras showed him entering and leaving the building when the crime was committed.

The verdict is scheduled for November 27.