In September 2020, his lawyer appealed the verdict and the Appeals Court reduced the fine to Dh5,000, but retained the deportation order.
Lawyer Bader Khamis from World Centre Advocates and Legal Consultant then appealed that decision too and pleaded with the judges to implement Article 75 of the new UAE Decree No 30 of 2021 on narcotic and psychotropic substances, which came into effect on January 2 this year.
“I asked the court to use the law for the accused,” Khamis told Gulf News.
The new amendment says that deportation is not mandatory in cases of personal use or possession of drugs and the amendment leaves it up to the judge to decide if someone convicted in a narcotics case can be allowed to stay on in the UAE.
