ABU DHABI, 30th June, 2015 (WAM) -- In a landmark verdict, a woman known as the ‘Reem Island ghost’ has been found guilty and sentenced to death for the murder of an American expat woman, and for her attempt to kill a man with a home-made bomb, said a UAE daily.
"The verdict sends out a strong message, coming on the heels of deadly attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia and France, that there will be zero-tolerance of violence and terror in the UAE," said the Khaleej Times in an editorial on Tuesday.
The paper went on to say, "Emirati woman, Alaa Bader Abdullah Al Hashemi, appears to have acted alone but she was certainly influenced by extremist ideology. Therefore, the court viewed her killing of American Ibolya Ryan, 47, last December as an act of terror and handed out the capital punishment.
"Alaa stalked Ibolya to the washroom of the Boutik Mall on Al Reem Island, and stabbed her to death. The killer, who wore a veil, casually walked out of the mall and headed home without being stopped because no one suspected her movements.
"Security cameras, however, caught the suspect making her entry, heading for the toilet, and later exiting from scene of the crime. Police tracked her down and arrested her the next day.
"A search of her house yielded vital clues which showed she was receiving instructions on terror. Using bomb-making manuals, she even managed to assemble a crude device, which she placed at the home of a doctor which, thankfully, did not go off."
"The message must go out loud and clear that terrorist groups and individuals are marked for death in the UAE," concluded the daily.
WAM/Esraa/Moran