UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. DEATH SENTENCE IS COMMUTED

October 22, 2005: the Federal Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by a Court of Appeal commuting the death sentence on a drug trafficker to a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of Dh50,000 to be followed by deportation.
The convict, Mirza Khan, was caught by police in Sharjah with three kilograms of hashish in his possession while he was searching for a buyer. He was immediately referred to the Public Prosecution which charged him with importing hashish into the country for trafficking purposes and demanded that he be punished in accordance with Islamic Shariah law.
Upon trial, the Sharjah court of first instance ruled unanimously to execute him by the available methods.
The convict then appealed against the adjudication and the Court of Appeal ruled to revoke it and modify the charge to possession and consumption instead of trafficking and further reduce the punishment to 10-year imprisonment and a fine of Dh50,000 to be followed by deportation. Discontented, the convict contested the verdict but the Federal Supreme Court upheld it. (Sources: Khaleej Times, 22/10/2005)