4.22 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

‘My client inhaled hashish while sleeping'

Published
By Eman Al Baik

An Emirati accused with two Qataris of taking hashish was defended in court by his lawyer that he was a passive hashish smoker as he was sleeping in the same room where the other two were taking the drug.

According to the accusation sheet, MAI and SMA, both aged 33 and are Qatari visitors, and AMA, 26, Emirati employee, were accused of taking hashish on July 3. SMA alone was accused of possessing 0.95gm of hashish and of consuming alcohol.

Sameera Gargash, defence lawyer of AMA, asked the court to acquit her client and defended him saying he was sleeping in the same room where the first accused was taking drugs.

“My client is a passive hashish taker as he was inhaling the smoke of the hashish cigarette. He was sleeping and he did not possess hashish and denied the accusation,” she said.

The lawyer, who is also defending SMA, suspected the inspection and arrest formalities saying that when police searched the room of the furnished apartment, they did not show the inspection permission.

“SMA has taken drugs outside the country and not in the apartment,” she said.

However, Faisal Juma, 23, policeman, testified before the prosecution that police were tipped off that the three accused possessed and took hashish in a furnished apartment in the Al Barsha area.

“We took the necessary permission from the prosecution to inspect and arrest the suspects. When we knocked at the door, MAI opened it. Confronting him with the information we had, he confessed to taking hashish and picked a piece from his clothes and handed it over to us,” he testified.

SMA, who was sleeping in the bedroom, and AMA, who was sitting in the hall, had initially denied the accusation. They later confessed to taking drugs in the same room after they were confronted with urine test results that proved it contained hashish components, testified Juma.

Tareq Abdullah, 34, policeman repeated the same testimony.