UAE Executes Woman Convicted Of Killing American Schoolteacher

The United Arab Emirates on Monday executed a woman convicted of killing an American national in the capital Abu Dhabi last December, according to media reports. Alaa Bader Abdullah al-Hashemi, a UAE national, was accused of carrying out a jihadist-style attack on Ibolya Ryan solely on the basis of her nationality.

Al-Hashemi was reportedly handed down the death sentence last month by the country’s Federal Supreme Court, for killing Ryan, a mother of three. Al-Hashemi was also found guilty of planting a bomb near an American-Egyptian doctor’s house but the device was found before it exploded. The 31-year-old had testified in court that she suffered from hallucinations; however, a medical examination showed that she was mentally stable when she carried out the crimes, United Press International reported at the time.

Al-Hashemi -- who has six children -- was also convicted of setting up a social media account to spread militant ideology with the intention of undermining the UAE government and of providing money to militant organizations for attacks, Reuters reported, citing Wakalat Anba'a al Emarat (WAM), the UAE's official news agency.

According to an Al Arabiya report, officials arrested al-Hashemi during a raid at her home three days after the murder with the help of CCTV footage. International media was not allowed to cover the trial, which began in March.

Judge Falah al-Hajri, who pronounced the death sentence, said that "unfamiliar crimes in the UAE society have been emerging" to spread terror, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing WAM. The judge reportedly defended the death sentence saying it was "necessary to tackle such actions."

Ryan, 47, was living in Abu Dhabi with her 11-year-old twins and taught at an elementary school in Colorado before moving to the UAE, according to AP.