UAE officials caught three men from Uzbekistan (two aged 28 and one 33) for killing a religious leader in Dubai - they were shown with handcuffs and blindfolds on cameras yesterday
The victim Rabbi Zvi Kogan who worked with the New-York based Chabad group disappeared last thursday. His body was found on sunday which made the small but growing UAE Jewish population very worried about their safety
This was an antisemitic terrorist act
The rabbi who lived in UAE for a few years had both UAE residency and Moldova passport. UAE police worked with Israeli experts to solve this case; Moldovaʼs government also asked to be informed about whats happening. UAE top-diplomat Yousef Al Otaiba said this crime hurt his whole country
The case happened during a complex time - since UAE and Israel became friends about 4 years ago many Jews moved to live there. But after oct/2023 Hamas attack Jewish people became less visible in UAE streets (even though both countries still work together)
The three suspects dont have any charges yet; police didnt say why they did it. Some people like ex-politician Ayoob Kara think Iran helped them but Irans embassy said its not true