An Iranian-born Investor in Dubai Was Murdered

A local Emirati newspaper reported on Wednesday, May 22, that Dubai police have begun searching for two Canadian citizens and one Iranian accused of murdering an investor in the construction sector in one of Dubai's affluent neighborhoods. According to Al-Emarat Al-Youm, Major General Khamis Matar Al-Mazeina, the Dubai police chief, stated: "A Turkish citizen of Iranian descent was shot and killed while driving his car in the Marina area of Dubai on May 15." Al-Mazeina added, "Although some suspects have left the UAE, their identities have been established." He continued, "The suspects are one Iranian and two Canadians." Al-Emarat Al-Youm reported that the UAE police provided information about the suspects to the Canadian police. The newspaper quoted police sources stating that the assailants used a handgun equipped with a silencer. According to this report, the 'crime' was discovered when a guard found the victim's body in a vehicle in one of the buildings. Reuters reported that despite such incidents being rare in Dubai, authorities occasionally uncover crimes such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. In recent years, the UAE has also witnessed the assassination of political figures, including a high-ranking official from the Palestinian group Hamas and a leader of Chechen Shushans. In the summer of 2013, Abbas Yazdanpanah Yazdi, an Iranian-British businessman, was kidnapped in the UAE and remains missing. According to Reuters, Dubai authorities at that time announced that the attackers managed to transfer Mr. Yazdi from a port in Sharjah to Iran by attacking him and injecting him with drugs. A court in Dubai also charged six Iranian citizens last year with the abduction of Abbas Yazdanpanah Yazdi.