The price of justice

Color me naïve. I had heard of the concept of blood money, of course, but thought of it as an ancient custom, something half-remembered from a long ago Bible story or history book.

But the concept is alive and well in the UAE, even if the victims aren’t.

In a recent case in Dubai, two 19-year-old brothers from a local family were found guilty of killing their Pakistani driver and burning his body to conceal the evidence.

Before sentencing, the judge set aside a one-month window for the family of the accused killers to negotiate with the family of the victim. If they could not agree, the brothers faced life in prison.

But money talks. Five million dirhams (about $1.4 million U.S.) to the victim’s family spared the bothers’ lives, and they will be released after serving three years.