Israeli woman sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking in UAE released

Fida Kevan, who was detained last year, was first sentenced to death.

An Israeli woman sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates is pardoned and returns to her hometown.

native of haifa Fidu Kevan He was arrested a year ago while visiting Dubai. At that time he spent about two weeks looking for work in the UAE: he planned to start building a website there.

The reason for his detention was the illegal possession of approximately 500 grams of cocaine. The woman denied that the drug belonged to her. Israeli officials also claimed that their subjects were victims of forgery. Kevan’s innocence was insisted upon by his lawyers and relatives, who were in active contact with the Jewish Presidency. Duke of Yitzhak.

Authorities in the country noted that the detainee’s return was blocked due to the lack of extradition agreements between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. At the same time, it was stated that it would be beneficial to make an amnesty decision as soon as possible due to the difficult physical and psychological condition of his stay in prison.

According to local law, Kevan was initially sentenced to death, but later the death sentence was changed to life imprisonment. After numerous requests from Tel Aviv, he was pardoned by the President of the United Arab Emirates. Mohammed bin Zayed Al NahyanAmnesty timing for Muslims holy month of Ramadan.

It is noteworthy that since the resumption of diplomatic relations between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, a large number of Israelis have been arrested in the UAE on charges of drug trafficking. For example, at the end of 2021, people were detained in Dubai. Halila Dasuki: tried to smuggle a large shipment of cocaine, worth about $136 million and weighing nearly half a ton, in a shipping container. Under local law, he could be sentenced to death.