Court cancels deportation order for drug user in Dubai after lawyer evokes amended law
Judge upholds Dh5,000 fine, but allows suspect to stay on in the UAE in view of new law
Dubai: Dubai Court of First Instance has cancelled the deportation order against a man based on the new amendments in UAE’s anti-narcotics law.
The Indian man was arrested by Dubai Police for possessing a hashish-laden cigarette, nearly 3gm of hashish, 11 pills of an illegal painkiller and several other illegal substances.
Earlier, he was found guilty by the court and was slapped with a fine of Dh5,000, to be followed by deportation.
The suspect’s lawyer, Mohammed Al Redha, appealed the initial verdict and urged the judges to implement Article 75 of the new Decree No 30 of 2021 on narcotics and psychotropic substances, which came into effect on January 2, 2022.
What the amendment says
The suspect’s lawyer reasoned with the court that according to the new amendment, deportation is not mandatory in case of personal use or possession of drugs and the amendment leaves the decision up to the judge to decide on whether someone convicted under the anti-narcotics law will be allowed to stay in the UAE.
“My client has no prior criminal records. He has lived in the UAE with his family for more than 30 years and has a business in the country. He is from a family with a good reputation. I asked the court to use the more favourable [current] law for the accused,” said Al Redha.
Following the lawyer’s argument, the court upheld the fine of Dh5,000 but cancelled the deportation order.
The background
According to official records, Dubai Police had received information about the suspect possessing drugs. He was arrested last November from his residence in the Bur Dubai area.
A laboratory test revealed that he had consumed hashish. He admitted to the charges during interrogation and was found guilty of consuming illegal drugs.
“We asked the court to apply Article 13 of the penal code, which says if a law more favourable to the accused is issued after the perpetration of a crime and before rendering a final judgement, then that favourable law shall be applied to judge a case,” Al Redha explained.