Dubai: Two women tourists will be released from detention soon after a court cleared them on Sunday of taking hashish.
The Romanian holidaymakers were acquitted after they contended before the Dubai Court of First Instance that they had smoked hashish in their homeland on the same day they flew into Dubai.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal acquitted the women, 28-year-old L.N. and 25-year-old M.A., after lawyers asked the court to dismiss the case citing lack of jurisdiction.
Lawyers Hashim Al Hashemi and Badr Al Gurg also argued before the court that law enforcement procedures were not carried out properly against their clients, M.A. and L.N., respectively.
Drugs prosecutors charged the pair with taking hashish in March.
“I consumed hashish in Romania and not in Dubai. I smoked nearly six or seven cigarettes on the same day of my arrival,” said M.A.
L.N. said they smoked hashish in Romania before flying to Dubai.
Al Hashemi argued that drug enforcement officers had given inconsistent statements.
“One officer alleged that M.A. admitted to him that she consumed hashish outside the UAE. Meanwhile, another officer alleged that the suspects confessed to him that they consumed drugs in Dubai. Prosecutors brought unfounded evidence against my client and prosecution witnesses’ statements contradict each other. We ask the court to dismiss the case because the crime falls beyond its jurisdiction,” said Al Hashemi.
Al Gurg said that law enforcement procedures were carried out unlawfully against his client.
“Since her arrest, L.N. has contended that she did not use drugs in the UAE … she did so in her homeland. We ask the court to either acquit her or to drop the charges for lack of jurisdiction. My client did not commit a crime in Dubai,” said Al Gurg.
Shortly after being informed about their acquittal, the Romanians, dressed in pink prison outfits, left the courtroom with cries of joy.
An anti-narcotics police captain claimed that they received a tip-off that L.N. was in possession of hashish and was taking it in the apartment where she was staying in Palm Jumeirah
“After obtaining prosecutors’ permission, the 28-year-old was arrested at the entrance of a building where she had been staying. We searched her and did not find drugs in her possession. We went to the flat where she was staying and found M.A. and another woman there. We took the three women to test them for drugs … L.N. and M.A. tested positive for hashish. During questioning, they claimed that a Jordanian man had provided them with hashish, which they consumed in Dubai,” the captain told prosecutors.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
