Three suspects who were arrested in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and accused of killing an Israeli rabbi in the UAE are citizens of Uzbekistan, said the Ministry of Interior of the UAE on Sunday.
The Ministry issued a statement identifying the three men, two of whom were said to be 28 and 38 years old, and released images showing the three men in handcuffs.
The investigation conducted by Emirati authorities is still ongoing, the statement said, without specifying whether the individuals have been charged.
The body of the rabbi, Zvi Kogan, 28 years old, was found on Sunday. He was reported missing on Thursday, and an Israeli official said Kogan was last seen in Dubai.
Kogan, a former soldier in the Israeli Givati Brigade and a prominent figure in the Jewish community in the UAE, was registered in the UAE as a citizen of Moldova, and managed the “Rimon Market,” a kosher grocery store in Dubai. His store closed on Sunday, and soon after concerns arose over his disappearance.
It was reported that the family of the men had filed a missing persons report, prompting the formation of a “special search and investigation team” leading to the discovery of the body and the identification of the suspects.
Emirati authorities have not yet disclosed if they know the motive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an “anti-Semitic terrorist act,” and an Israeli official said Kogan was believed to have been targeted because he was Jewish.
The alleged murder has shaken the Jewish community in the UAE, estimated to number in the thousands by Jewish groups.
