A man convicted of the murder of a British primary school teacher has been sentenced to death in Qatar, after a court found he assaulted Lauren Patterson, stabbed her and burnt her body.
Badr Hashim Khamis Abdullah Al-Jabar was found guilty by a court in Doha of killing 24-year-old Patterson in the Gulf state in October last year, her family said.
His accomplice Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Abdul Aziz was jailed for three years for reportedly helping burn the body of the Briton, originally from Chislehurst in south-east London.
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Her mother Alison said Al-Jabar's sentence meant "justice has been served" for the killing of "my beautiful daughter".
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, she described Patterson as "my closest friend and confidant" who helped raise her siblings after the sudden death of her father.
“Badr Hashim Khamis Abdullah Al-Jabar has not only killed my beautiful daughter, he has also ruined so many lives, including that of his own family who will have to live with the horrendous and despicable crime he committed on a young, kind woman who had her whole life ahead of her."
"Nothing will ever bring my daughter back," she continued. "As a family we will never be able to replace the times we were looking forward to: Lauren getting married, having children - all of those things and more have been taken away from us by these two individuals.
"Even though this trial is now over, we will never forget Lauren, nor the horrific way she was murdered.
"Because of the truly heinous and brutal way in which Badr Hashim Khamis Abdullah Al-Jabar and Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Abdul Aziz tried to dispose of Lauren's body, we were not able to say a final goodbye.
"This will be etched in my memory till the day I die. Nothing will ever make the pain and grief that we have all suffered go away. It is something none of us will forget. "
She had harsh words for the three-year sentence for the second accused Abdul Aziz, who she called an "accomplice to Lauren's murder and he was aware of what had happened. At no time did he choose to help my daughter or report the murder.
"In fact he did the contrary; he helped Badr Hashim Khamis Abdullah Al-Jabar dispose of Lauren's body in the most callous and barbaric way.
“For this reason I am deeply upset that Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Abdul Aziz received such a short sentence. Three years does not seem to reflect the magnitude of this crime."
Patterson, originally from Chislehurst in south east London, was working at the Newton British School in the Qatari capital.
Up to 500 British expats are thought to be arriving in Doha every day as the city expands into a global hub built on the back of Qatar's enormous oil and natural gas wealth.