Fida Kiwan, a 43-year-old resident of the northern Israeli metropolis of Haifa, was sentenced in April. The Israeli information website Ynet stated on the time that Kiwan was arrested on March 21, 2021, with half a kilogram (over 1 pound) of cocaine that she claimed didn’t belong to her.
Mordechai Tzivin, an Israeli lawyer representing her, confirmed that the loss of life sentence was dropped on attraction. She nonetheless faces a doubtlessly prolonged jail sentence.
Tzivin stated the authorized system within the UAE is “constructed on the foundations of justice, honesty and compassion,” and expressed hope that that will be mirrored because the case proceeds.
Israel’s International Ministry welcomed the ruling, saying it was “happy that the efforts on the authorized channels in addition to different channels led to the cancellation of the loss of life sentence.”
The ministry had earlier stated it was following the case via its consular division and representatives within the UAE.
There was no remark from Emirati authorities.
Normalization has turned glitzy Dubai right into a freewheeling Israeli vacationer vacation spot. Israel’s high leaders, together with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, have met with their counterparts within the Gulf state, and the UAE was a part of an unprecedented assembly of Arab and Israeli overseas ministers in Israel’s Negev desert earlier this 12 months.
Israeli media reported that Kiwan got here to Dubai for work on the invitation of a Palestinian acquaintance. She was arrested a short time later after a search of her residence turned up the medicine.
The UAE is among the world’s most restrictive nations in relation to individuals importing and possessing medicine, together with substances for private use like hashish and even over-the-counter medicines like narcotics.
Trafficking usually carries a life sentence and possession a shorter jail sentence. Whereas UAE regulation permits for the loss of life penalty in sure instances, capital punishment isn’t carried out. The final recognized executions have been in 2011 and 2014, towards two males convicted of homicide.
