Man sentenced to 25 years in absentia arrested

A Gulf man caught in possession of drugs was allowed to leave the UAE after a court in Ras Al Khaimah acquitted him. He has just been arrested again when he returned to the country, not knowing that an appeals court has sentenced him to 25 years in jail.

His lawyer, Ramzi Alajouz, said he would plead for a fresh trial of his client on the grounds he was sentenced by the appeals court in absentia.

“In line with the criminal law in the UAE, a defendant sentenced in his absence and returns to the country through legal means should be retried as that sentence is automatically abrogated,” he said.

The unnamed man from another GCC countries was seized by RAK police two years ago after they found drugs in his car. But a court of first instance later acquitted him for lack of evidence.

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