DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A significant legal decision has been reached in the United Arab Emirates concerning the tragic death of Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan individual. Three individuals have been sentenced to death by the UAE court, as reported by state media on Monday.
The convictions were handed down by the State Security Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals. Additionally, a fourth individual implicated in the crime has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Although the court has not publicly revealed the identities of the accused, it is known that three Uzbek nationals were apprehended in Turkey and extradited back to the UAE following an alleged involvement in the case occurring in November.
The UAE’s state-run news agency explained that the accused were responsible for tracking and murdering Kogan. The State Security Prosecution bolstered their case against the defendants with substantial evidence, including confessions, forensic analyses, autopsy findings, and related crime instruments, all of which were corroborated by witness statements.
Despite these proceedings, UAE authorities have not disclosed a motive behind Kogan’s abduction and subsequent murder. However, this incident occurs concurrent with the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, a situation that has intensified regional tensions, particularly within the Muslim world.
Diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE continue to persist, albeit under strain due to the conflict. These ties have been supported by the continued operation of an Israeli consulate in Dubai and an embassy in Abu Dhabi. Some Israeli officials have insinuated a broader “axis of evil” could be implicated in Kogan’s murder, a term historically used to denote Iran and its supporters.
Despite these claims, the Iranian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has refuted any suggestions of Tehran’s involvement in the rabbi’s killing, and no formal accusations have been made by the UAE against Iran. Western officials remain suspicious of potential Iranian intelligence activities within the UAE, pointing to precedent cases where Iran has previously executed kidnappings and utilized criminal entities to target its adversaries.
Zvi Kogan, 28, served as an ultra-Orthodox rabbi and managed a kosher grocery in Dubai, which has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists and entrepreneurs following the 2020 Abraham Accords. The area has seen the growth of a vibrant Jewish community complete with synagogues and kosher establishments.
Kogan was an important emissary for the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a well-known ultra-Orthodox Jewish group based out of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. His remains have been interred in Israel.
The UAE, a sovereign collection of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, rarely enacts capital punishment, but such sentences tend to be carried out expeditiously following the exhaustion of appeals. The nation customarily employs firing squads for executions.