Court acquits Kuwaiti man accused of carrying drugs

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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: The Criminal Court acquitted a Kuwaiti citizen who was accused of possessing drugs. The court declared that securitymen are not allowed to search and arrest individuals without a warrant from the Public Prosecution. According to the case file, the arresting officer said he found the citizen lying unconscious on the ground and was discovered to be in a disoriented state, adding that drugs were found near him. H o w e v e r , the court explained that article 52 of procedures act affirms that securitymen have the right to stop any individual and ask for their details if necessary for investigations. According to article 44 of the same act, securitymen have to be involved in the investigations, and in case they need to search and arrest an individual, they must show proof of the investigations to the Public Prosecutor who will then decide whether to issue a written warrant or not. Lawyer Hawra Al-Habib affirmed that the court’s verdict is a testament of citizen’s right to freedom, explaining that, according to the law, securitymen can stop any individual. If there are suspicions of an individual’s involvement in a crime or misdemeanor, the individual should be asked to accompany them to the police station where securitymen can request for permission to search and arrest the suspect.

Good conduct pledge: The Court of Cassation issued a ‘suspended’ sentence of two years to a citizen, and ordered him to sign a pledge to maintain good conduct for three years with financial guarantee of KD 500. The Public Prosecution charged the citizen for taking photo (via mobile) of a ballot paper for one of the fourth constituency candidates. The citizen allegedly did so to prove to the candidate that he voted for him, which is in direct violation of electoral laws. In another case, the Court of Cassation refrained from issuing its verdict against former parliamentary election candidate, and instead ordered him to maintain good conduct for two years with financial guarantee of KD 2,000. The candidate was accused of offending the judiciary and being in contempt of its personnel after he dishonored and disrespected the rights of the aforementioned authority through his statements and writings as established by the investigation team. The candidate was also accused of misusing mobile phone to post defamatory and offensive statements on his personal account on Twitter against the judiciary and its personnel.

Citizen acquitted: The Court of Appeals cancelled the decision of First Instance Court that refrained from punishing a citizen who had been accused of possessing illicit drugs and intoxicants. The court thereby acquitted the citizen. Ex-wife of the accused claimed she had seen the man in Jabriya area drawing a piece of plastic from his pockets containing crystals, which he later melted on fire and consumed on the day of incident. Attorney Muhammad Al-Hussaini in defense of the accused said the incident never took place, because it violates the logic of science. He added the arrest and search procedure carried out on his client was illegal, as it was executed before obtaining warrant from the Public Prosecution. He pointed out that his client is allowed to use the drug ‘Adderoll’ but he didn’t know it contains amphetamine

By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff

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