Disappearance and recovery
Kogan's family reported him missing in November 2024. The UAE Ministry of Interior said a specialised search and investigation team was assembled, the victim's body was located, and suspects were identified and arrested in a short period. Authorities initially withheld the location of the body and the cause of death from public reporting.
On November 25, the Ministry identified three arrested Uzbek nationals: Olimboy Tohirovich, 28; Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28; and Azizbek Kamilovich, 33. Later proceedings included a fourth defendant accused of aiding the crime.
State Security investigation
The State Security Prosecution said the defendants had tracked Kogan before the kidnapping and murder. According to the official Emirates News Agency account of the trial, the prosecution relied on detailed confessions, forensic reports, post-mortem findings, evidence relating to instruments used in the crime and witness testimony.
The court characterised the principal crime as premeditated murder with terrorist intention. Crime by Region presents that description as the legal finding of the UAE court, rather than using broader political attribution not established in the published judgment.
March 2025 convictions
On March 31, 2025, the State Security Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals convicted the defendants. Three men were sentenced to death for kidnapping and murdering Kogan. A fourth defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment, followed by deportation, for aiding them.
The official report also made an important procedural point: capital sentences in this case were automatically subject to appeal and referred to the Criminal Division of the Federal Supreme Court for review and adjudication. The March ruling is therefore a conviction, but it should not be flattened into a claim that every avenue of review had already ended on that date.
Timeline
November 2024: Kogan is reported missing by his family in the UAE.
November 24, 2024: the Ministry of Interior announces that his body has been found and three suspects arrested.
November 25, 2024: authorities identify the three arrested Uzbek nationals.
January 2025: the UAE Attorney General orders four defendants referred for trial following the State Security investigation.
March 31, 2025: three defendants receive death sentences and a fourth receives life imprisonment.
After the March judgment: the capital sentences are automatically referred for Federal Supreme Court review under the procedure described by WAM.
Current status
The case is classified here as Partially Adjudicated. The public record establishes convictions at the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals' State Security Chamber. The latest authoritative ruling located for this August 2026 review is the March 31, 2025 judgment, whose own official summary says the death sentences proceed to automatic Federal Supreme Court review.
Sources
- Emirates News Agency (WAM) — Ministry of Interior announces discovery of the body and arrests, November 24, 2024
- Emirates News Agency (WAM) — identities of the three arrested suspects, November 25, 2024
- Emirates News Agency (WAM) — convictions, evidence summary and automatic capital review, March 31, 2025
- The National — independent reporting on the March 2025 judgment