Dubai Court rules 24-year-old Emirati did not 'refuse' drug test

Dubai: A Dubai court has overturned the conviction of a 24-year-old Emirati man who was previously sentenced to two years in prison and fined Dh100,000 for allegedly refusing to give a urine sample for a drug test.

The case dates back to September 2023, when police arrested the young man after receiving a report about his behavior in the Al Jaddaf area, near the Dubai Police Officers’ Club. Officers said he appeared to be in an “abnormal state” and took him to the General Department for Anti-Narcotics to provide a urine sample, as ordered by prosecutors.dubai court

Prosecutors accused him of refusing to comply with that order. The Misdemeanor Court convicted him, handing down a jail sentence, a heavy fine, restrictions on his financial dealings, and the confiscation of seized items.

The defendant appealed the ruling, but in February 2024 the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction. His lawyers then turned to the Court of Cassation, which found mistakes in the judgment and sent the case back for a new hearing.

At the retrial, the defense argued that the young man had not deliberately refused the test but was unable to urinate because of a medical condition. His lawyer submitted a medical report, while a forensic lab nurse testified that he had tried three times within short intervals but failed to provide a sample. Initially, he did not explain why.

The new panel of Appeal Court judges found that prosecutors had not proven beyond doubt that he had “intentionally refused” to comply with the order — a key legal requirement under Article 63 of Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 on combating narcotics. Accepting his medical excuse, the court ruled that the evidence was insufficient to establish intent.

In September 2025, the court acquitted the defendant, clearing him of all charges.