Dubai, United Arab Emirates — A court in the UAE has issued death sentences for three individuals convicted of the murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi Zvi Kogan, as reported by state media on March 31, 2025. The Los Angeles Times revealed that these verdicts were delivered following a trial in the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals, with a fourth accomplice receiving a life sentence.

According to the CBS News, the court identified the act as having a “terrorist purpose.” The defendants, all reportedly Uzbek nationals, were arrested in Turkey before being extradited to the UAE. Evidence against them included detailed confessions, forensic reports, and witness testimonies indicating they had tracked and ultimately killed Kogan.

Rabbi Kogan, 28, was associated with the Chabad Lubavitch movement and ran a kosher grocery store in Dubai. His disappearance in November raised significant concerns, particularly as the country’s Jewish community has grown since the UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords. He was later found dead in the city of Al Ain, leading to outrage among Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who condemned the act as an “antisemitic terrorist act,” reported Reuters.

The UAE is known for its relatively low crime rate, and capital punishment is infrequently employed. Typically, executions are carried out swiftly after all appeals are exhausted. Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the visibility of Israelis and Jews in the UAE has diminished, with reports indicating that informal gathering spots for the Jewish community have been shut down due to security concerns.

As the legal proceedings unfold, the implications of Kogan's murder extend beyond individual accountability, penetrating deeper into the complex socio-political fabric of the Gulf region amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.