Shahzadi Khan, An Indian national who was convicted for the murder of an infant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been executed following the confirmation of her death sentence by the country’s highest court.
Confirming this in a terse statement March 3, The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the UAE authorities had informed the Indian Embassy on February 28 about the implementation of the sentence in accordance with local laws.
“The Embassy provided all possible legal assistance to Ms. Shahzadi, including sending mercy petitions and pardon requests to the Government of the UAE,” and the Khan family has been notified about the development, it said.
But Advocate Ali Mohammad Maaz, who was involved in Shahzadi Khan’s case, disagrees. “Shahzadi was convicted, and we had applied for clemency,” he told PTI.
“The matter was ongoing, and we emailed Abu Dhabi officials to file a clemency letter. On February 14, 2025, we received a call from the jail as Shahzadi’s last wish. Panicked, we approached the MEA and PMO on February 21 but got no response. A writ petition later revealed she had been hanged on February 15,” he said.
Noting that the UAE authorities have informed them that the burial will take place on March 5, 2025, he said: “We have only two days. They said they will assist, provided we file an application. Shahzadi was very poor. We hired lawyers, but the embassy has not paid. Now we are trying to send a family member,” he added.
Before her execution, Shahzadi Khan’s father, Shabbir Khan, pleaded for clemency, urging the UAE and Indian governments to intervene. Speaking to The Independent, he insisted on her innocence.
Khan, 33, from Banda, Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly trafficked to Abu Dhabi under false pretenses by a man named Uzair, who promised medical treatment and a job. Instead, she was sold into bonded labor and assigned to care for a couple’s four-month-old baby, who died under unclear circumstances in February 2022. Her father claimed she was coerced into signing a false confession.
Abu Dhabi court documents stated Khan suffocated the child in frustration over mistreatment and unpaid wages. However, a doctor testified the family refused a postmortem, leaving the cause of death uncertain. The baby had received a vaccine that day and was running a fever, court proceedings noted.
Despite these gaps, the UAE’s Court of Cassation upheld her death sentence. Khan’s father appealed to Indian leaders and filed a police complaint against Uzair for trafficking but failed to prevent the execution. He also blamed inadequate legal aid for her conviction.
Originally set for May 2023, her execution was delayed due to UAE floods and royal mourning. In September, she was told she could be hanged at any time.
As the end neared, the father’s hope faded. “We tell her to have faith in God, that He will save her,” he told The Independent. “But it’s hard to keep faith when you’re facing death.”
