Drug smuggler 'not responsible for his actions'

A court has ordered three psychiatric consultants to decide whether a schizophrenic patient, M.J., who is serving a life sentence for peddling drugs, was responsible for his actions when he trafficked marijuana.

The Dubai Court of Appeal assigned the panel from UAE University to review the lawsuit's documents and medical reports on the 22-year-old Iranian defendant's mental condition.

The appeal judge said: "The panel will have the authority to listen to whoever it takes to help them decide whether the defendant was responsible for his actions when the incident happened."

His lawyer Saeed Al Gheelani told the court: "M.J. who suffers from schizophrenia is often unaware of his behaviour and is not responsible for his actions."

A psychiatrist testified in court earlier that M.J. "hallucinates constantly and hears strange voices."

"The defendant's grandparents died in front of him when he was a child. Since then he has suffered from psychological disorders, impaired vision and constant fear and hears voices that his grandfather is always calling him for help," said Al Gheelani.

When the lawyer asked the psychiatrist whether M.J. could give in to the voices, he said: "Yes, a schizophrenic sometimes submits to such hallucinations and strange voices. But this makes him unaware and not responsible for his actions."