sentenced to death in 2014 for stabbing his roommate15 (both of whom claimed they were
acting in self-defence against sexual assault).
Possible Miscarriages of Justice
From our database of death penalty cases in the UAE we find several instances of possible
miscarriages of jusGce. First, there are 6 cases (two from 2012; one from 2014; two from 2015;
one from 2016) of foreign naGonal defendants who have been sentenced to death in absenGa;
a violaGon of their right to a fair trial. AddiGonally, Ezur Gangadharan, an Indian man who was
sentenced to death for raping a child at the school he worked as a janitor at was upheld by
the Appeals Court in March 2014, despite the fact that it is widely believed that he had been
falsely accused to cover up sexual abuse by a family member. His case aOracted criGcism of
both confessions extracted by torture and the absence of DNA evidence linking him to the
crime16.
The significance of consular support for foreign nationals is underlined by a case of a Filipina
woman, Jennifer Dalquez, who was sentenced to death after stabbing to death her
employer in 2014, she alleges after he threatened to kill her because she refused to have
sex with him17. The Filipino embassy assigned her a lawyer through their legal assistance
fund who immediately appealed the conviction and had it successfully overturned by a local
court in 2017; Jennifer was subsequently ordered to be released and was repatriated in
201818. However, this is a very rare outcome for such cases and consular assistance does not
appear to be extended to many foreign nationals sentenced to death in the UAE.
From our research and interviews with people working across the Gulf, it appears that, in
some instances, a detainee’s right under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations19 for their consulate to be informed of their case without delay is not facilitated by
UAE authorities. Furthermore, a consulate’s right under the Convention to visit their
detained national and to provide them with assistance, including legal representation, is not
always allowed for by the UAE authorities. Where such assistance is provided, it is often too
late for it to make a material difference to the case.
CondiGons of DetenGon
Our team has conducted secondary, desk-based research into the condiGons of detenGon
faced by those under sentence of death in the United Arab Emirates and interviewed NGOs,
15
The Na@onal News UAE, hEps://www.thena@onalnews.com/uae/death-sentence-for-man-who-killedroomate-in-abu-dhabi-1.575184.
16
The Na@onal News UAE, hEps://www.thena@onalnews.com/uae/no-dna-evidence-found-in-alleged-rape-ofschool-girl-1.585786/; hEps://www.thena@onalnews.com/uae/court-upholds-death-sentence-for-janitor-whoraped-schoolgirl-1.45474.
17
Gulf News, hEps://gulfnews.com/going-out/society/mother-of-filipina-maid-sentenced-to-death-appeals-forhelp-1.1976662.
18
Department of Foreign Affairs (The Philippines), hEps://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/dfa-releasesupdate/18405filipina-acquiEed-of-murdering-employer-in-uae-thanks-gov-t-for-geSng-her-out-of-death-row.
19
United Na@ons, Vienna Conven@on on Consular Rela@ons, 1963, art. 36(1),
hEps://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conven@ons/9_2_1963.pdf.