UAE sentences 3 Uzbek nationals to death over killing of Chabad rabbi last year

2025-03-31 10:57:55

Three men accused of killing Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates last year have been sentenced to death, Israeli sources in the Gulf state.

There is no official confirmation from the UAE.

Kogan, a 28-year-old UAE-based rabbi, went missing in Dubai in November 2024, and his body was found a few days later in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman.

The UAE is holding three suspects over the murder — all of them Uzbek nationals who were arrested in Turkey.

In December, The Wall Street Journal reported that the killers had kidnapped Kogan and planned to take him to neighboring Oman. The report said the three suspects were driving the Israeli-Moldovan national toward the border until their plan was somehow disrupted.

According to Kan, Israeli officials believe that Kogan’s killing was not necessarily carried out on behalf of Iran but that it was a terror attack.