BEIRUT: A Beirut investigative judge Thursday recommended the death penalty for a man who allegedly bludgeoned his wife to death with a pressure cooker earlier this year.
Judge Fouad Murad issued an indictment against Mohammad Adnan Al-Nhaily, accusing him of premeditated murder of his wife, Manal Assi, who he beat “violently and viciously.”
In February, Nhaily used the kitchen appliance to strike Assi, a teacher, after a quarrel turned violent.
The incident was one of several high profile cases that have sparked increasing calls for lawmakers to approve a draft law criminalizing domestic violence in an effort to curb violence against women.
In the indictment, the judge wrote that on the day of the murder, Assi and Nhaily engaged in a dispute which turned violent after the husband accused his wife of cheating on him with another man.
Nhaily had snatched Assi's phone and discovered Whatsapp messages between her and another man, including rendezvous and an exchange of photos between the two, judicial sources told The Daily Star.
Nhaily confessed that his wife admitted she was having an affair with the man she had been seeing for a while.
The judge also exonerated the wife of Assi's alleged lover from incitement to murder.
Rania Shahrour contacted Nhaily and told him about the relationship between her husband and Assi, the sources said.
During her interrogation, Shahrour said she had phoned Assi and asked her to stop seeing her husband.
She also told the judge that she found out her husband was cheating on her after she checked his phone and saw the “romantic” Whatsapp messages exchanged with Assi.
The judge will refer the case to the Criminal Court, which will open Nhaily's trial soon.
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