DUBAI // An Emirati boat captain convicted of raping and killing a four-year-old Pakistani boy in the bathroom of a mosque during Eid Al Adha in 2009 will be executed tomorrow, a senior prison official told The National this afternoon.

“Up until this moment, the execution is scheduled for tomorrow,” the official said, adding that the exact place and time of execution have not been determined yet. He added that Rashid Rabee al Rashidi would be executed by firing squad.

The family of the victim, Moosa Mukhtiar Ahmed, have been informed of the date of the execution but will not be allowed to witness the execution, the official said.

He said the family would be called after the execution had been carried out and the forensics experts had finished examining the body to confirm al Rashidi’s death. At that point, they would be allowed to enter the examination room to view the body.

The Dubai Court of Cassation confirmed the death sentence against al Rashidi last year, after which the death warrant was waiting for the approval of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE.

salamir@thenational.ae