British newspaper editor Francis Matthew has been found guilty of killing his wife with a hammer and has been sentenced by a Dubai judge to 10 years in prison, after which he will be deported.
The incident took place in July last year. On July 4, Dubai Police were called to Matthew’s house, where they found the dead body of his wife. Police say the editor first blamed robbers for the crime but later admitted to striking her.
In previous hearings, the accused’s lawyer, Ali Al Shamsi described the incident as a moment of "temporary insanity", and the British journalist should instead face a charge of 'physical assault leading to death', he told Dubai Criminal Court Judge Fahd Al Shamsi.
Matthew was the editor of Gulf News from 1995-2005 after which he became editor-at-large at the newspaper.
The sentence is subject to an appeak within 15 days.