Oman's Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a young German woman sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of killing her father with the help of four Omanis.
The court, which rendered its verdict on Tuesday, also upheld life sentences against the four local accomplices, including Dana Gerlish's wheelchair-bound alleged lover, German ambassador to Muscat Hartmut Blankenstein said on Saturday.
He said Gerlish, a physiotherapist, was given the news in jail during a meeting with a German diplomat's wife. Both she and her alleged lover are in their thirties.
"Dana did not cry. She was almost composed, as if she was expecting the rejection of her appeal," the ambassador said.
Blankenstein said Gerlish, who has been putting on a "brave face" in jail and "making the best of the harsh conditions the prison offers," has appealed to the German government for help once Oman's legal system has taken its course.
"We are waiting for the written judgment of the supreme court to decide, in consultation with lawyers, how best to help her in the given situation," he said.
Oman's criminal court sentenced Gerlish and the four Omanis to life imprisonment in May, although the verdicts were only made public in July after they were referred to the grand mufti, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Muhammad Al Khalili, who had the final word on the fate of all those accused.
The ruling provided for Gerlish's deportation after she serves her sentence. Life imprisonment means 25 years jail in Oman.
Gert Manfred Gerlish, a 53-year-old car mechanic, was shot in the head at point-blank range in Muscat's upmarket Qurum district last December.
The prosecution had alleged that Gerlish, who pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder, decided to have her father killed because he opposed the relationship with her alleged lover.
Blankenstein said the embassy accepted the latest judgment since Gerlish received a fair trial.
Woman who killed father loses appeal
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