UAE Drops Death Sentence Against Israeli Woman For Drug Possession

The United Arab Emirates has dropped a death sentence against an Israeli woman convicted of drug possession. She will be sentenced instead to prison in the coming days, according to reports. Fida Kiwan, 43, a resident of Haifa who owns a photography studio, was convicted of possessing half a kilogram of cocaine while visiting Dubai for work at the invitation of a Palestinians acquaintance; she was arrested in Dubai in March 2021. She says the drugs are not hers and were planted in her bag and in the apartment she was staying in.

The UAE has very strict drug-smuggling laws that provide for levying a death sentence on traffickers. Such sentences are frequently softened to lengthy prison sentences.

Israel and the UAE signed the Abraham Accords in Washington in September 2020, which normalized relations between the countries. The UAE has seen tens of thousands of Israelis visit the Emirate since then.