SHARJAH // The key witness against 17 Indian men on death row for killing another man in a bootlegging-related brawl said he couldn't identify any of the suspects in court today.
Three other witnesses for the prosecution have left the country, the Sharjah Appeals Court heard today.
M A, the witness, who was also allegedly attacked in the incident, said he and three friends, including the man who was killed, were walking when they came across 30 to 35 people attacking one person, whom he knew. He said the attackers thought he and his friends were trying to rescue the man being beaten and attacked them.
“They hit as with swords, wood and building [materials]. Each one of us was attacked by at least six people and they refused to stop,” M A told the court.
A forensics expert, meanwhile, testified that three cuts which to the victim’s head were likely the cause of death. He said that the injuries were by a hard heavy object with a sharp edge such as a butcher knife or a sword.
The blows caused brain damage, he added. In March, the 17 were found guilty of beating the Pakistani to death and injuring three others during a fight in January 2009 in the Saaja Industrial area of Sharjah.
The next hearing is on October 13, when more testimony will be heard.
