Israeli Woman Sentenced to Death for Drug Possession in UAE
Capital sentence a ‘mistake,’ Dubai-based legal expert says
Israeli citizen Fida Kiwan, a resident of Haifa, was sentenced to death on Tuesday by a court in the United Arab Emirates, after she was found guilty of possessing half a kilo of cocaine, or more than a pound.
Kiwan, 43, says the drugs were not hers.
It is the most severe criminal charge against an Israeli in the United Arab Emirates since the Abraham Accords normalization agreement were signed in 2020, and seen by some as a test of the bilateral relationship.
Kiwan, who owns a photography studio in Haifa, arrived in the UAE about a year ago after being invited by a Palestinian acquaintance in Dubai to work as a graphic artist. A week after her arrival, local authorities searched her apartment and found the cocaine.
She was arrested and has been held in custody ever since.
Tamar Ullmann, an Israeli criminal lawyer who was contacted by Kiwan’s family after the sentence was announced, is now representing her. Ullmann told The Media Line that the defense has 30 days to submit an appeal, and they are currently working on that.
The UAE has already decided to view drug consumption as a disease rather than a crime, which means that the laws are already softened and that the death sentence is very mistaken
Reinaz Tofik, a UAE legal expert familiar with the case, told The Media Line that the punishment will probably be reduced after the appeal, one way or another.
She explained that Kiwan claims the narcotics did not belong to her. “If the drugs did not belong to Kiwan, then they have to reverse the burden of proof,” Tofik said.
She added that the closed-circuit video cameras in Kiwan’s apartment building should have been checked. “They have to check who visited her. As far as we know, there are many people who live in the UAE without their own residency [permits], because of the strict laws, and someone could have been hiding the drugs in her apartment,” she said.
Therefore, Tofik said: “It is a mistake to sentence Kiwan to a death penalty while it cannot be proven that all the cocaine belonged to her. She might have consumed a small amount, and anyway the UAE has already decided to view drug consumption as a disease rather than a crime, which means that the laws are already softened and that the death sentence is very mistaken.”
The UAE-Israel relationship has rapidly developed since the peace agreement was signed in 2020. Last Friday, the countries finalized a free trade agreement, the first of its kind between Israel and an Arab country. It now awaits ratification by both nations.
Since the peace accords were signed, around a quarter million Israelis have visited the UAE, a number that would have been higher were it not for the coronavirus pandemic.
Maybe she could serve a sentence in Israel, maybe there could be some kind of compromise
Professor Joshua Teitelbaum, from the department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv, told The Media Line that if Kiwan’s death penalty is implemented, it would be a “very serious step” on the Emiratis’ part.
He added, however, that this is unlikely, and instead some kind of arrangement will be reached with the Israeli government.
“You never know what will happen. Maybe she could serve a sentence in Israel, maybe there could be some kind of compromise,” Teitelbaum said.
Lior Haiat, the spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told The Media Line: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the situation, and we are dealing with it through the consular division and our embassy in the Emirates.”
Ullmann confirmed this and said she will be in contact with the Israeli ambassador to the UAE when the appeal is heard.
“I’m sure that the State of Israel can and will help in the matter,” the attorney said.
