SHARJAH // The criminal case against 17 Indian men who were spared the death penalty after being convicted of murder last year has been adjourned to February 8.
The men were found guilty of killing a man during a brawl in Sharjah in 2009 - a fight prosecutors claimed was part of a bootlegging turf war - but were spared the death sentence after paying Dh3.4 million in blood money to the victim's family last year.
In September of last year, the Sharjah Court of Appeal ordered the men to be deported and commuted their sentences to two years. But prosecutors appealed against the verdict at the Federal Supreme Court, urging it to take into account injuries sustained by three other men during the brawl as well as further charges of possessing and selling alcohol.
However, in December of last year, the apex court transferred the case back to the appeal court, ordering it to review only the alcohol charges.
A final verdict had been expected today, but has been adjourned to next Wednesday.
In a separate civil case, two of the three men who claim they were hurt in the brawl have filed a Dh1.5 million compensation suit at the Sharjah Court of First Instance. The civil case has been adjourned to February 15.
pkannan@thenational.ae
