MUSCAT, 18 April 2004 — Muscat Criminal Court yesterday wound up the trial of a German woman and her wheelchair-bound alleged Omani lover accused of the premeditated murder of her father and set the verdict for May 5, the German ambassador said.
Dana Gerlish, a physiotherapist, and the Omani, both in their 30s, could face the death sentence if found guilty. Three Omani accomplices are also facing the murder charges.
They were all in court as five defense lawyers summed up their arguments, German Ambassador Hartmut Blankenstein said.
The prosecution alleged that Gerlish, who pleaded not guilty, decided to have her father killed because he was against her alleged lover, whose name has not been divulged in Omani media.
Gert Manfred Gerlish, 53, a car mechanic, was shot in the head at point blank range in Muscat’s upmarket Qurum district in early December. “The trial has been conducted according to general principles of justice and I am confident the verdict will reflect this,” said Blankenstein.
“We have been observing the trial right from the beginning and the court has handled it promptly and judiciously,” the ambassador said.
The father’s ashes were taken home by his daughter, who then returned to the physiotherapy clinic she runs in Muscat under the sponsorship of the wheelchair-bound Omani. He met with her in Germany two years ago when he was being treated for back injuries from a traffic accident.
