Rashid Rabia Al Rashidi, 30, who had been found guilty of the rape and premeditated murder of a four-year-old Pakistani boy in a Dubai mosque on the first day of Eid Al Adha in November 2009, had exhausted all legal avenues, the official WAM news agency said.

Al-Rashidi was executed early Thursday by Dubai firing squad, Public prosecution sources told Arab News.

It was the first execution in the United Arab Emirates in three years,

Al-Rashidi was sentenced to death in January 2010, after he confessed to raping and killing the boy, AFP reported.

Prosecutors, who demanded a speedy trial, said Rashidi had lured the boy to the bathroom by saying he would give him a cash present to mark the feast. As the boy tried to scream after being sexually assaulted, the attacker muzzled him and banged his head on the floor, delivering a fatal blow, AFP said.

The boy's parents were among five family members present for the execution. The death sentence was confirmed in an appeal.

Although the law in the UAE includes capital punishment, executions are rare. The last execution in the UAE took place in February 2008 in Ras Al-Khaimah, according to AFP.