The UAE has canceled a legal article allowing the reduction of punishment in what is known as 'honor crimes,' so that these crimes with be handled like any other murder case in the Gulf state. 

The move came within the framework of a series of legal amendments that included allowing unmarried couples to reside together, decriminalizing suicide attempts, tightening the prosecution of harassers of women, and removing any penalties for alcohol consumption, according to local media.

The penal laws in a large number of Arab countries, including Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt, protect the perpetrators of 'honor killings,' which often kill women, including wives, mothers and sisters.

The state-run Emirates News Agency said Saturday that the country's president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had approved amending some provisions of the Penal Code.

Among these amendments is "the abolition of the article that gives a mitigating excuse in the so-called 'honor crimes' so that murder crimes are treated according to the provisions in force in the penal code."

The annulled article (334) stipulated the punishment of “temporary imprisonment” against “whoever was surprised when he saw another person close to him in the act of adultery and proceeded to kill this person or the adulterer with him or both."

According to Emirati media, the temporary prison sentence ranged between three and 15 years.

As for the crime of murder in normal circumstances, the punishment is life imprisonment or the death penalty, or imprisonment for at least seven years “if the blood relatives pardoned their right to retribution,” according to Article 332 of the UAE Penal Code.

With the abolition of the penalty relief article, the perpetrator of the "honor crime" faces one of the penalties for ordinary murders, a case rare in the Emirates, where foreigners constitute about 90 percent of its population of about 10 million.

This issue is considered one of the most prominent thorny issues in the Arab world, especially in conservative societies that adopt laws that often protect the perpetrators of this type of crime.

Local and international human rights organizations are calling for the abolition of articles related to "honor crimes" from the laws and treating this crime like any other murder.

In the context of the legal amendments, the Emirati President adopted an article allowing for the first time unmarried spouses to reside together, after this issue was prohibited under UAE law, according to the newspaper "The National."

It was also decided to abolish any penalties for consuming alcoholic beverages, including the lack of a specific license for that, noting that alcohol consumption laws differ from one emirate to another in the Gulf state.

The amendments also tightened penalties for harassment and set the death penalty for "rape of a minor," while decriminalizing suicide and attempted suicide.

These amendments also stated that foreign residents in the country seeking to attract investments and mega projects can request the adoption of the laws of their countries regarding issues of inheritance, marriage and divorce.

The UAE has one of the most diversified economies in the Middle East and North Africa, and is heavily dependent on tourism and investments, in addition to having large oil reserves.