Man acquitted of drug charges

The Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted a 29-year-old man, who was jailed for a drug offence, even though the man was again charged in a another drug case.

The General Prosecution had charged the unemployed UAE national of selling codeine and morphine to other prisoners at the Dubai Central Prison. The Prison administration decided to send his urine sample to the laboratory for tests, but the accused allegedly refused to give a urine sample.

According to court reports, the police were able to get hold of the prisoner's urine-soaked pants, but it was not made clear how this was done.

The laboratory reports showed that the sample tested positive for codeine and morphine and that these drugs were not related to the medicine prescribed to him for his psychological illness.

The accused denied his charges and most of his statement contradicted the police report. He said the police had locked him up in a room for 24 hours where there were no toilet facilities and he had to wet his pants.

The court dismissed all charges against him for lack of strong evidence.