Court acquits dual nationality holder in ‘drug-peddling’ case

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 19: The Court of Appeals cancelled the verdict issued by the Court of First Instance which sentenced a Kuwaiti citizen with dual citizenship to life imprisonment for possessing and trading in drugs. He was instead acquitted. According to the case file, the suspect was arrested in a trap at a dusty yard in Umm Al- Haiman area.

The investigation officer declared that he conducted secret investigations which confirmed that the suspect possesses drugs for trading. After receiving a warrant from the Public Prosecution, a trap was set based on which an undercover agent was sent to the suspect for purchasing drugs in a dusty yard at Umm Al-Haiman area.

The suspect was arrested while receiving KD 26,000 and handing over a bag containing 42 sachets of a dark brown substance. They searched the suspect’s vehicle to find a piece of the brown substance under the driver’s seat. When questioned, the suspect revealed that the drug was for his use.

Securitymen also found a copy of a Saudi identity card in the vehicle. However, during the court session, the defense counsel Lawyer Ina’am Haidar said the warrant issued by the Public Prosecution was based on false and insufficient investigations, adding that all of the subsequent processes are illegal including the search and arrest procedures.

‘Review age bill’: With the approach of the deadline for implementing the law on reducing juvenile age to 16 years, a board member of Kuwait Lawyers Society Lawyer Mubarak Al-Khashab has called for the need to review the bill, considering it as unconstitutional and breach of the Child Protection Law, Civil Law and the law organizing prisons. He said the bill also represents a violation of Kuwait’s commitment to international treaties on human rights and children’s rights. Lawyer Al-Khashab stressed that reducing the juvenile age to 16 years is in contradiction to the agreements and laws that stipulate that an individual is considered as a child until he reaches 18 years of age. He warned of dire consequences in case the law is passed whereby juveniles will be treated as adults, indicating that juveniles will be subjected to death by hanging and will be taken to the Criminal Court instead of the court for juveniles. Lawyer Al-Khashab also warned of the punishment of jail terms in Central Prison that will be issued against juveniles where they will be among criminals including those convicted of murder, drugs and other grave crimes, adding that this will only worsen the behavior of juveniles instead of correcting it.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff

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