UAE Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, condemns murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan: It was an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision.
The UAE Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, on Sunday issued a statement following the murder in the UAE of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad emissary to Abu Dhabi.
In the statement, Al Otaiba said that Rabbi Kogan’s murder was “a crime against the UAE”.
“Today the UAE mourns for Rabbi Zvi Kogan. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and community over his senseless death,” he said.
“Zvi Kogan’s murder was more than a crime in the UAE – it was a crime against the UAE. It was an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision,” added the Emirati Ambassador.
“In the UAE, we welcome everyone. We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind. We honor Zvi Kogan’s memory by recommitting ourselves to these values.”
“Now, we are more determined than ever to protecting and sustaining the Emirates as a shining and enduring example of diversity, acceptance and peace,” concluded Ambassador Al Otaiba.
Earlier on Sunday, the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates announced that the Emirati authorities have arrested three individuals suspected of murdering Rabbi Kogan. The Ministry explained that upon receiving a missing person report from the victim’s family, a specialized search and investigation team was promptly assembled. This led to the discovery of the victim’s body, the identification and arrest of the perpetrators, and the initiation of the necessary legal procedures.
Full details of the incident will be disclosed upon the conclusion of the investigations.
Meanwhile, the intelligence blog Intelli Times reported that Iran has established a terrorist affiliate in recent years that relies on Uzbek activists of Shiite-Iranian origin, which may be responsible for the murder of Rabbi Kogan.
According to the report, the terrorist affiliate was run by a terrorist from Tajikistan by the name Muhammad Ali Burhanov, who ran Unit 400 of the Iranian Quds Force, a terrorist network that operated on the soil of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The unit›s goal was to harm Jewish and Israeli targets. Such attempts have been documented in recent months.
Burhanov studied at a campus in Tehran that is also known for recruiting activists from around the world for the benefit of Iranian intelligence agencies. The affiliate he ran also included activists from the Hezbollah Brigades, the main Iranian-backed militia in Iraq.
