01 November 2020 :
Four Keralites on 28 October 2020 were sentenced to death by a Qatari Criminal court in Doha after being convicted of murdering a Yemeni gold merchant, local media has reported.
All the four - K Ashfeer, Anees, Rashid Kuniyil and T Shammas - belong to Mattannur in Kannur, Kerala.
The deceased was a Yemeni national who was running jewellery shops in Doha. According to the Police report, the defendants, all foreign workers, stabbed him to death in a flat during a robbery in June 2019. The investigation also found that after the crime, the stolen money was sent home by the accused through various means.
The purpose of the crime was to rob the money and gold from the Yemeni trader, the court ruled. However, the court has acquitted some defendants of murder charges.
There were 27 people accused in the case. The police investigation revealed that some of the accused had escaped from Qatar. Some of the other accused were sentenced to five years, two years and six months in prison.
A few of the accused were found not guilty and released.
The defendants are reportedly expected to appeal the ruling.
More details of the verdicts will be released on 29 October, sources said.