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A CCTV image released by Abu Dhabi police on December 3, 2014 shows a fully
veiled woman walking in a shopping mall in the Emirati capital. The woman was
a suspect in the killing of an American teacher stabbed in the Boutik Mall's toilet.
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July 13, 2015: The United Arab Emirates executed by firing squad a UAE woman convicted of terrorism early today after the militant-inspired killing of an American kindergarten teacher in December 2014, the state news agency WAM reported.
Ala'a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi, 31, was sentenced to death a year ago for stabbing Romanian-born Ibolya Ryan, a mother of 11-year-old twins, in the toilet of an Abu Dhabi shopping mall and attempting to bomb an American-Egyptian doctor.
Hashemi was caught on CCTV cameras walking inside the mall wearing a full black burqa. Later, she was seen running to an elevator and exiting the mall. Her image in the footages earned her the nickname "Reem Ghost."
Hashemi was also convicted of setting up a social media account to spread militant ideology with the intention of undermining the government and of giving money to militant organizations for attacks, WAM reported.
She stabbed Ryan inside a mall bathroom "with an intention to kill," WAM reports.
The murder happened two months after the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi informed U.S. citizens of a circulating online message inciting attacks against American and other foreign teachers, CNN reports.
Hashemi admitted to the murder, saying she was acting out of vengeance for her husband who was taken into custody for suspected militant connections.
She also said her actions were driven by a mental illness, which made her act like she was possessed by evil spirits. However, a medical investigation on her condition revealed that she was sane, according to Reuters.
Police said last year Hashemi had become radicalized over the internet and had not been targeting an American in particular, but was looking for a foreigner to kill at random.
Sources: Reuters, Agence France-Presse, HOC, July 13, 2015
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