The UAE says the suspects arrested over the alleged murder of the Israeli rabbi are from Uzbekistan

DUBAI: Three suspects arrested in the United Arab Emirates and charged with the murder of an Israeli rabbi in the UAE are citizens of Uzbekistan, the UAE Ministry of Interior said on Monday.

The ministry released a statement identifying the three men, two of whom were 28 years old and the third 33 years old. It also released images showing each of the three men blindfolded and handcuffed.

The investigation by Emirati authorities continues, the statement said, without saying whether the men have been charged.

Uzbekistan’s embassy in Abu Dhabi did not immediately respond to an email Reuters request for comment.

The body of the rabbi, Zvi Kogan, 28, was discovered on Sunday. He was reported missing on Thursday and an Israeli official said Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

Emirati authorities have not said whether they have established a motive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it was an “anti-Semitic terrorist act,” and the Israeli official had said it is believed Kogan was targeted because he was Jewish.

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Former Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara, in conversation with Reuters in Dubai on Sunday accused Iran of being involved. The Iranian embassy in Abu Dhabi has rejected the accusation.

Kogan’s death has shocked the UAE’s Jewish community, which is estimated to number several thousand.

According to local authorities, Kogan was a resident of the UAE and also a Moldovan citizen. He lived in the UAE for several years and worked with the New York-based Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement, which was involved in outreach to the Jewish community.

Israeli agencies are participating in the investigation, the Israeli official said Reuters on Sunday. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry has said it is in contact with UAE authorities.

UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba has said Kogan’s killing was a crime against the Gulf Arab country, which is located on the Arabian Peninsula and across the Gulf from Iran.

The Israeli and Jewish communities in the UAE have become more visible since 2020, when the Gulf Arab country established official ties with Israel under a US-brokered deal.

The UAE has maintained ties with Israel during the 13-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. But Israelis and Jews have been less visible in public since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the war that sparked protests worldwide.