UAE Grants Amnesty to Israeli Woman Jailed for Life for Drug Smuggling
An Israeli woman who was serving a life sentence in prison in the United Arab Emirates for drug smuggling was returned to Israel on Saturday night after being granted amnesty by the president of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The amnesty was granted in honor of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and is seen as a personal gesture to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.
Fida Kiwan, 44, had originally been sentenced to death a year ago, but the sentence was changed to life in prison by the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal Court in July.
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Kiwan, 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.
