Abu Dhabi court overturns life sentence, reduces drug charge to personal use

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s Court of Appeal has overturned a life sentence imposed on a defendant convicted at first instance of possessing narcotics and psychotropic substances with intent to traffic, ruling that the evidence failed to establish trafficking beyond doubt and reclassifying the offence as possession for personal use.

In its judgment, the appellate court found that the case file contained no conclusive proof of an intent to trade in drugs. It said investigative and arrest procedures did not demonstrate a link between the defendant and drug trafficking as required by law, prompting the court to amend the legal characterisation of the charge.

The case, according to Emarat Al Youm, dates back to the referral of the defendant to the court of first instance on charges of possessing cannabis and psychotropic substances for trafficking, as well as drug use. 

The lower court sentenced him to life imprisonment for trafficking, three months’ imprisonment for the related charges, ordered the confiscation of seized items, deportation, and payment of court fees.

The defendant appealed, denying trafficking while admitting drug use. His lawyer sought to overturn the trafficking designation, arguing for acquittal on use or, alternatively, the application of maximum leniency.

Reviewing the appeal, the court said the investigation did not clarify how authorities concluded the defendant was engaged in trafficking, nor did it show acts of promotion, negotiation or delivery. 

The alleged trafficking activity, the court noted, occurred “independently of the defendant,” and he was not caught committing any act indicative of trade.

The court also cited testimony indicating the defendant was arrested without conducting a trafficking transaction. 

While an initial statement suggested he had supplied drugs on three occasions, the defendant later told prosecutors that this involved assisting a friend for a small sum, not selling, an account the court described as unconvincing and unsupported by corroborating evidence.

Given the quantities seized and proof of drug use, the court concluded the intent behind possession was personal consumption rather than trafficking.

Exercising its authority under Article 215 of the Criminal Procedures Law, the court amended the primary charge to possession for use, treated the offences as inseparably linked, and imposed a single sentence of three months’ imprisonment, while upholding deportation and fees.

The court said the defence submissions added nothing beyond arguments already considered at first instance and that the original judgment could not stand once the trafficking foundation had collapsed. It ruled that intent to traffic had not been proven to the requisite certainty, nullifying the life sentence and replacing it with a three-month term following the reclassification.