Cairo: Saudi Arabia’s top court has endorsed a court ruling awarding a citizen SR98,000 in damages after he was cleared of drug accusations that landed him in jail for 130 days pending trial, according to a local newspaper. The man, only identified as Khalaf, had been arrested on suspicion of dealing in hashish after he was caught with a friend charged with possessing and trading in drugs, Okaz added.
After he was finally acquitted, the man in his 40s filed a compensation, citing damage he suffered as a result of involving him in the case without evidence and jailing him.
A first-instance court initially ruled in favour of the compensation lawsuit that was later upheld by an appeals court.
Saudi courts have recently awarded compensation rulings for several citizens in different cases after they were given final acquittal verdicts. The value of compensation is up to the court to estimate.
