Murder appeal adjourned

Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (Reuter) - An Islamic court adjourned an appeal by the condemned Filipina maid Sarah Balabagan, after she repeated her claim that she killed her employer in self-defence.

The three judges, from Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, questioned Ms Balabagan about the day she stabbed Almas Mohammed al-Baloushi 34 times. "Sarah said she was defending herself. She told the judges he lured her into his room and when he locked the door and turned off the lights, she knew something was wrong," said her defence lawyer, Salman Lotfi, after the court adjourned until 30 October.

The judges cleared the court of public and press after Ms Balabagan said she wanted to make a private plea "because it's a moral issue", a Philippines embassy official said. Ms Balabagan was condemned to death last month for premeditated murder. A court rejected her claim that she acted in self-defence after wresting Baloushi's knife away during "a rape".