The Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ruled that the extradition of Sebastian M. to Poland is admissible. If a similar incident occurred in the UAE, the perpetrator would have to pay the families of the victims compensation under Muslim law, equivalent to approximately PLN 200,000 per person killed.
Sebastian M. is suspected of causing a fatal car accident in mid-September 2023 on the A1 motorway in Sierosław near Piotrków Trybunalski. As a result of the incident, a family of three died: parents and their 5-year-old son.
After the accident, M. managed to escape from Europe. An arrest warrant was issued for him, and he was also wanted on the basis of an Interpol red notice. In October 2023, Emirati police supported by the Polish Special Search Group, detained M. in Dubai. The suspect has been in the UAE since then.
In some Muslim countries, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, cases of death caused by a third party—whether intentional or unintentional—are treated differently than in European countries. Instead of viewing them solely as a crime prosecuted by the state, Islamic law (sharia) considers them a civil matter between the perpetrator and the victim’s family. In such cases, there are two options: an eye-for-an-eye (Arabic: kisas)—meaning the death penalty in the case of murder, for example—or financial compensation (Arabic: dija, blood money).
Traditionally, a diya was worth 100 camels or about four kilograms of gold, but nowadays its amount is set in advance by the state or the courts.
In the case of the UAE, whose legislation is partly based on Islamic law, from 2021 the diya is 200,000 dirhams, which is equivalent to approximately PLN 200,000.
For example, in 2020 in Abu Dhabi, a motorcycle driver significantly exceeded the speed limit and hit a passenger car, killing four passengers. He was sentenced to one year in prison, a fine of 10,000 dirhams and ordered to pay diya: under the law in force at the time, 200,000 dirhams for each of two men and 100,000 for each of two women.
A year earlier in Dubai, a bus driver drove 94 km/h in a 40 km/h zone, causing a crash that killed 17 people. He was initially sentenced to seven years in prison and a total of 3.4 million dirhams in compensation. On appeal, the sentence was reduced to one year, but the diya amount remained unchanged.
Diya is also awarded in the UAE in cases of negligent and unintentional manslaughter. This also applies to situations where the victim contributed to the accident, and for this reason many insurance policies in the country cover the driver's obligation to pay diya.
An example of this approach is the 2018 UAE Supreme Court ruling in a case involving a pedestrian who was crossing the road in a prohibited place. Although the court found that the pedestrian contributed to the accident, the driver was ordered to pay a diya of 100,000 dirhams and serve a three-month prison sentence. The court found that despite the pedestrian’s error, the driver was primarily responsible for the accident due to speeding and inattention.
In the case of Sebastian M., the final decision rests with the UAE Minister of Justice, who will decide on Sebastian M.’s extradition to the Polish authorities.
From Dubai Joanna Baczała (PAP)
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