Abu Dhabi, UAE — Shahzadi Khan, a 33-year-old Indian woman employed as a domestic helper in Abu Dhabi, was executed last month following her conviction for the murder of her employer’s infant son.
The Indian government confirmed her execution, which reportedly took place on 15 February.
Khan’s family in India has steadfastly maintained her innocence, alleging that the child’s death was due to an incorrect vaccination and that she was denied adequate legal representation during her trial.
Khan had moved to Abu Dhabi in 2021 from the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to work as a caregiver for an Indian family. The infant was born the following year.
According to Khan’s father, Shabbir Khan, she frequently contacted her family through video calls, often showing them the child.
However, the calls abruptly stopped in December 2022. It was later revealed that Khan had been arrested weeks after the infant’s death on 7 December.
Khan was sentenced to death by an Abu Dhabi court in July 2023. During her last conversation with her family on 13 February, she expressed fears of her imminent execution.
“She kept crying and said she was put in a separate cell, and that she would not come out alive and that it might be her last call,” her father told the BBC.
When the family received no further communication, they approached the Delhi High Court seeking clarity from the Indian government, which confirmed her execution date.
Khan’s family has criticized the legal proceedings, claiming she did not receive adequate defense due to financial constraints.
“She didn’t get justice. I have tried everywhere, running around since last year. But I didn’t have money to go there [Abu Dhabi] to hire a lawyer,” Shabbir Khan said in an interview with the Press Trust of India.
The family has also alleged that misleading information was presented to the court, resulting in a rushed verdict. In contrast, the employer’s family has firmly upheld the conviction, describing the murder as both “brutal and intentional.”
In a statement to BBC Hindi, the child’s father asserted that the evidence provided was sufficient to prove Khan’s guilt and accused her family of attempting to shift focus from the crime by portraying her as a victim.
The case has drawn attention to the conditions faced by Indian migrant workers in the Gulf region, particularly those on death row.
According to Indian government data presented in parliament, 54 Indians are currently on death row in foreign countries, with 29 of them in the UAE.
The incident has also sparked discussions about the legal assistance available to Indian workers abroad, especially those unable to afford private counsel.
The UAE authorities have yet to comment on the case. Meanwhile, Khan’s family has called for a thorough investigation and urged the Indian government to intervene more robustly in such cases involving its citizens abroad.