UAE: TWO GET DEATH FOR MURDER COMMITTED AS MINORS

April 27, 2010: in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, two men were sentenced to death for a murder they allegedly committed as 17-year-olds. According to Federal Supreme Court documents, the pair were tried as adults after a court ruled that their facial hair indicated they were mature enough to take responsibility for their crimes. WM, an Emirati,  and AH, a Bangladeshi, and two others were convicted of killing a man with a knife on a Sharjah beach in November 2003. According to Shariah, a beard or moustache is regarded as evidence of maturity. The court ruled that because WM and AH were both old enough to shave their facial hair, they were criminally responsible for their actions.
The defendants claimed they did not intend to kill the man but rather to “discipline him and force him to divorce his wife”. (Sources: The National, 28/04/2010)