Three Uzbek nationals have been sentenced to death in the United Arab Emirates for the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan hy”d, a 28-year-old Chabad shliach in November 2024. The convicted individuals, identified as Olimpi Toirovich, 28, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28, and Azizbek Kamlovich, 33, were arrested shortly after the murder in a coordinated operation involving Turkish intelligence and UAE authorities. The trio was apprehended in Istanbul, Turkey, and extradited to the UAE to face trial. Emirati officials confirmed the arrests in November 2024, releasing photographs of the suspects in custody and announcing the initiation of legal proceedings. Rabbi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan dual citizen, was abducted on November 21, 2024, while working in Dubai, where he managed a kosher supermarket and served as a shliach for the Abu Dhabi branch of Chabad. His body was discovered days later in Al Ain, approximately 150 kilometers from Abu Dhabi, following an intensive search by UAE security forces. Evidence of a struggle was found in his abandoned vehicle, and early reports suggested the attackers had intended to kidnap him and transport him across the border to Oman before the plan unraveled, resulting in his death. The UAE Ministry of Interior described the crime as a deliberate act and vowed to uncover its full circumstances and motives. While Israeli officials initially suspected Iranian involvement, citing the use of Uzbek operatives as a possible link to Tehran’s influence, Iran’s embassy in Abu Dhabi denied any role in the killing. The investigation has not publicly confirmed a definitive motive, though the case has been widely framed as an attack on the UAE’s burgeoning Jewish community and its commitment to tolerance and coexistence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had pledged to ensure justice for the killers, praised the UAE’s swift action in a statement last year, emphasizing that the murder would not derail the growing ties between Israel and the Gulf state, forged under the 2020 Abraham Accords. The White House also condemned the killing as a “horrific crime against those who stand for peace,” with National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett noting the UAE’s rejection of violent extremism. Rabbi Kogan’s death sent shockwaves through the global Jewish community. As a dedicated Chabad shliach, he worked alongside Chief Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Duchman to expand Jewish life in the UAE, including establishing the region’s first Jewish education center and ensuring kosher food availability. The execution date for the three men has not been announced, and it remains unclear whether any appeals will be permitted under UAE law. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)