Reuters

DUBAI HAS HARSH DRUG LAWS, FAIR COURTS

By MARGARET COKER

June 27, 2006 

WASHINGTON - The tiny Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai has made a name for itself as bastion of liberalism in the Middle East. But as Atlanta music producer Dallas Austin is learning, the full weight of its Islamic-based criminal code can come crashing down on alleged law-breakers.

The Grammy-winning Austin is in a Dubai jail, accused of entering the tourist and cultural hotspot with a gram of cocaine. Possession of the illegal substance can bring up to four years in prison, under local law.

Austin has apparently been held on charges of drug possession since landing at the city’s airport on May 19. He is reportedly being held at Al Rashidiya prison, where he is being allowed visitors.

While Dubai’s constitution does not provide accused persons the right to a speedy trial, it does provide the right to a fair public trial. Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), receives above average reviews from the State Department and human rights organizations for its court system.

But there are striking differences between Dubai’s legal system and that of the United States.

Among them:

DRUG PENALTIES - Dubai’s penal code, which is based both on Islamic Shari’a law and British civil law, sets a maximum four-year sentence for drug possession.

Drug trafficking charges are steeper. A 1996 law makes trafficking a crime punishable by death.

Painkillers that can be routinely bought over the counter or are available with a doctors’ prescription in America or Europe are illegal in Dubai.

The State Department lists these types of medicine on its Web site about Dubai - and warns Americans against bringing in such tablets without a doctor’s prescription.

In May 2005, British citizen Tracy Wilkinson, a 44-year-old mother of two, was detained at the airport while she was trying to leave Dubai because authorities said there was an irregularity with her passport. Police then forced her to give them a urine sample.

Wilkinson’s sample reportedly showed traces of codeine, and because she did not have the prescription for the medicine, she was jailed for two months until consular officials could deliver a doctor’s letter proving that the medicine was part of a medically approved plan to treat her chronic back disorder.

CHARGES AND BAIL - Dubai’s criminal code states that suspects can be detained for up to 21 days without charge. In cases of felonies, like drug possession, a judge can extend this period for another 21 days.

There is no institutionalized bail system in Dubai, although judges have been known to allow UAE citizens to remain under house arrest while awaiting trial.

While Dubai allows alcohol consumption in specified bars and restaurants, the emirate has a zero tolerance when it comes to driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Penalties may include hefty jail sentences and fines and, for Muslims - even those who are U.S. citizens - lashings.

Persons involved in an accident in which another party is injured automatically go to jail until the injured person is released from the hospital. If someone dies as a result of a traffic accident, than the driver of the other vehicle is liable for payment of compensation for the death, an Arabic custom know as ‘‘dhiyya.’’ This sum roughly equals $55,000.

PRISONS - Westerners who have been jailed while awaiting trial describe prison conditions as Spartan at best and wretched at worst.

Prisoners are fed three times a day, and they have access to reading materials and are able to exercise, according to interior ministry officials interviewed in December.

A visit by a reporter to one detention facility in eastern Dubai, where suspects are held before trial, confirmed clean conditions where men slept six to a room on metal frame bunk beds. Electric fans moved the stagnant air. Toilet facilities were outside the cells.

LOCALS VS. FOREIGNERS - Sentences and prison conditions seemingly depend on a person’s nationality and how good his contacts are with the local ruling elite, local residents say.

For example, first time offenders who are UAE citizens have ducked jail time when convicted on drug charges. Instead, judges have been known to sentence them to rehabilitation centers.

One such center, a desert locale called the Dubai Training and Rehabilitation Center, has a swimming pool, air conditioning and art classes, according to media reports.

Foreigners cannot always expect such consideration.

Stories of European tourists being detained by airport authorities for drug possession are passed around Dubai’s thriving bar scene as a sobering tonic.

‘‘We know that the laws here are harsh, and we expect to be treated harshly if we break them. As a result, we try not to do anything wrong,’’ said Deborah Plumstead, a Baltimore, Maryland, native who has worked as a public relations consultant in Dubai for much of the last five years.

Interesting report! But not many might agree with the views!