FOUR DENY CHARGES OF STEALING JEWELLERY

Gulf Times, Qatar
Nov 28 2006

The presiding Judge, Mamoun Hamour
Staff Reporter

AN Ukrainian man and three Armenians – two women and a man – have
denied charges of forming a gang to steal gold from several jewellery
shops in Doha during the second and third weeks of September.

The four came to Doha in batches on tourist visas beginning September
11. Qatar was their third stop in the Gulf after Bahrain and Kuwait.

When presented before the trial court on Sunday, the police claimed
that 40gm of gold missing from a Doha shop was found in their
possession.

The Iranian shopkeeper claimed that the accused stole items worth
QR3,850 during their third visit to his shop.

He told the court that three of them came twice to his shop three days
earlier to the theft, asking for prices and striking a conversation
to win his trust as serious customers.

"On September 19, the accused four came to my shop around 6.30pm and
my father was with me in the shop.

"During their third visit, I gave the first suspect (36) a jewellery
item which he put around the neck of the woman – the second suspect
(28).

"When the third suspect, a 26-year-old man, noticed that my father
was watching them, he tried to distract him by seeking information
about another item."

The shopkeeper said the fourth woman, 55, tried to distract him
as well.

He said he "saw" the first suspect throwing gold chains into the
breast pocket of the second suspect, but he was not sure because he
was busy with the 55-year-old second suspect.

"After the four left our shop, we feared that some items were
missing from the shop and when the police called us the next day,
our suspicions were confirmed," he told the judge.

During Sunday’s trial, the second suspect claimed that her confessions
before the police were taken under duress. Three of her accomplices
also gave identical statements before the court.

The judge reminded her that she had not confessed in the first place.

The first accused said he was a famous singer in Ukraine and he was
financially sound. He told the judge that he was staying in a luxury
hotel in Doha at the time of the alleged crime.

Ironically, he told the judge that he could not afford a lawyer and
asked the court to appoint one for him.

The shopkeeper said that the police called him the next day and asked
him whether he could recognise the nine gold chains stolen missing
from his shop.

The first accused said he had presented to the Public Prosecution
original invoices showing that all the items recovered from the gang –
weighing 2.5kg – were purchased from Bahrain and Kuwait.

He told the judge that he came to the Iranian’s shop many times to
bargain and to convince him that other shops were selling ornaments
at reasonable prices.

The Iranian shopkeeper said the accused failed to steal the items
during their first and second visits as he did not part with the
items they were asking about.

The presiding judge, Mamoun Hamour, released the accused on bail
until December 17, when the verdict in the case will be pronounced.

The accused are also facing trial in other cases.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress