UAE thanks Turkey for help apprehending suspects in murder of Chabad Rabbi Kogan

UAE’s foreign ministry confirms Ankara’s involvement, but does not provide details on how it helped or where the suspects were when they were caught

Pictures released by the UAE on November 25, 2024, of the three suspects in the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan (left to right): Olimpi Toirovich (28), Makhmudjon Abdurakhim (28), and Azizbek Kamlovich (33). (X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Pictures released by the UAE on November 25, 2024, of the three suspects in the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan (left to right): Olimpi Toirovich (28), Makhmudjon Abdurakhim (28), and Azizbek Kamlovich (33). (X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that Turkish authorities assisted in the arrest of the suspects accused of murdering an Israeli rabbi in the UAE last week.

In a statement carried by the state news agency, the ministry thanked Turkish authorities for “their cooperation in arresting the perpetrators,” without providing further details.

Emirati authorities have said they arrested three Uzbek men for the suspected murder of Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old rabbi who had been living in the UAE and was also a Moldovan national.

The circumstances of Kogan’s death have not been disclosed and it is unclear if Emirati authorities have established a motive or where the three suspects were when they were arrested.

Israeli officials have said Kogan was targeted because he was Jewish and branded his killing as an antisemitic terror attack. Israeli agencies are assisting in the investigation.

Kogan had been living in the UAE for several years and had been involved in outreach to the country’s Jewish community. He was reported missing on Thursday and his body was discovered on Sunday.

Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the UAE in November 2024. (Courtesy: Chabad)

Uzbek officials have said the Tashkent government was assisting the Emirati and Israeli authorities in the investigation.

Two of the detained suspects are aged 28 and a third is 33. The three suspects have been shown blindfolded and in restraints in images released by the UAE Interior Ministry.

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