Defense lawyer excused in UAE torture-death case DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 28 (UPI) -- A United Arab Emirates court Sunday excused a lawyer from defending a death row inmate who is appealing his conviction in the torture death of his daughter. The Dubai Appeal Court appointed the lawyer to defend Hamad S., a UAE resident, who was convicted in February of torturing his daughter, 8-year-old Wudeema, to death, Gulf News reported. Hamad S., 30, was sentenced to death and his girlfriend, Al Onoud A., was sentenced life in prison. The couple were convicted of torturing Wudeema's 7-year-old sister, Meera, causing her permanent disability and burning her body parts. The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and appealed their convictions. "I would like to ask the court to relieve me from the duty of being the convict's legal representative and defend him," the lawyer said to presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif. "The court has accepted the request and will appoint a new lawyer to defend Hamad S. once it reconvenes on May 19," Sharif said Sunday.