Friday, Apr 11, 2014
Dubai: A top London Police official said on Friday that the probe into the brutal hammer attack on three Emirati women in a central London hotel is making great strides following the arrest of five suspects.
Police from London confirmed on Friday that all five suspects — four men and a woman — rounded up after the April 6 bludgeoning of the Emirati sisters at The Cumberland Hotel are British nationals who remain in jails in north London.
The four men face charges of attempted murder while the female suspect has been taken into custody on a charge of handling stolen property.
Police said they believe “that the motivation for the attack was primarily theft.”
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley lauded cooperation from police in the UAE who have helped in the investigation.
“This was an awful attack on three women in their London hotel. An investigation, led by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Service Homicide and Major Crime Command, was launched immediately after the incident,” Rowley said. “The operation has been assisted by our policing counterparts in Abu Dhabi — this excellent co-operation is ongoing.”
Investigators are making headway on the case, he said.
“The police investigation is making real progress. Five people remain in police custody and my officers are working hard to bring to justice those responsible for this attack.”
As for the health of the three women, one sister remains in a critical condition while her two siblings remain in hospital with non life-threatening head injuries, police confirmed on Friday.
Police reports said the women were hit in the face by a stranger wielding a hammer.
A spokesperson for the hotel told Gulf News on Thursday that the rooms occupied by the victims remained sealed pending further investigation by police.
UK Minister for the Middle East, the Rt Hon Hugh Robertson said in a statement earlier that his “thoughts are with the victims and their families. I spoke to the United Arab Emirates Deputy Foreign Minister HE Dr Anwar Gargash [on Thursday] to assure him that this is a priority for the UK Metropolitan Police, and that the excellent co-operation between the UK and Abu Dhabi Police will continue. Attacks of this nature are, fortunately, rare in London. We will do everything within our power to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The British Ambassador to the UAE Dominic Jermey said on Thursday that after “such an appalling incident, our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
“This is a terrible time for them and I know that all of us from the British community here in the UAE are deeply saddened at the injuries they have suffered.
“From the embassy, we are liaising closely with our UAE counterparts to ensure the authorities have all the information they need to investigate who carried out this attack. I know the Metropolitan Police are working day and night on the investigation. We attach the utmost importance both to the welfare of the victims and to ensuring that those responsible are held to account”.
By Mariam M. Al Serkal Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
