UAE Confirms 3 Sentenced to Death for Killing of Chabad Rabbi By The Media Line Staff The United Arab Emirates confirmed on Monday that it has sentenced three men to death for the murder of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old dual Israeli and Moldovan citizen who was killed in November 2024. A fourth defendant […]
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The Media Line: UAE Confirms 3 Sentenced to Death for Killing of Chabad Rabbi
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UAE Confirms 3 Sentenced to Death for Killing of Chabad Rabbi
By The Media Line Staff
The United Arab Emirates confirmed on Monday that it has sentenced three men to death for the murder of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old dual Israeli and Moldovan citizen who was killed in November 2024. A fourth defendant received a life sentence, UAE state media said.
Kogan served as an emissary for Chabad, the Jewish outreach organization, in Abu Dhabi and operated a kosher supermarket in Dubai. He went missing on November 21, 2024, and his body was found three days later in Al Ain, a city near the Oman border.
He was buried in Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives cemetery.
Security officials later identified the suspects as Uzbek nationals Olimpi Toirovich, 28, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28, and Azizbek Kamlovich, 33. They fled to Turkey after the killing but were later extradited to the UAE.
Investigators believe the suspects tracked Kogan’s movements, kidnapped him, and then killed him. His abandoned car, discovered shortly after his disappearance, showed signs of violence and blood.
Some reports suggest the attack was carried out at Iran’s direction, though officials have not publicly confirmed this claim. UAE state media did not specify a motive behind the murder.
Israel and the UAE have had diplomatic ties since the 2020 Abraham Accords. In the years since, Israelis and Emiratis have developed strong business ties, and some sources estimate that nearly 3,000 Israelis are now based in the UAE.