NationStates Jolt Archive

DUBAI, UAE

The authorities here are a bit 'zealous' in their prosecution of drug offenders.

Consider...

A 25 year old British male (visiting Dubai, presumably on holiday) will likely be given several years in jail for possession of a mere crumb of hash.

An Italian visitor was given FOUR YEARS for possession of 0.01 gram - that's right, a mere 1/100th of a gram! FOUR YEARS! That's a bit over the top, surely?
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/06/05/10130143.html

A 27 year old Greek policeman was given FOUR YEARS for possession of marijuana after a bag, which he'd borrowed from a friend, turned out to have a little marijuana in it "The quantity of marijuana which was found in the outer layer of the defendant's handbag is considered too little to be peddled, consumed or even possessed, his lawyer told the court earlier". (Incidentally, this is also a cautionary tale about bringing in medicines from outside of the Sandlands).
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/05/09/10123863.html

So I realise that a few of the NS anti-criminal hardcore are going to be whooping with delight 'serves 'em right' attitude. So by way of comparison

A woman was sentenced to three months imprisonment and 120 lashes ... for adultery

Rapists who are Emirati (i.e. nationals of the UAE) routinely get 1 year (sometimes suspended) sentences.

I personally think the criminal justice system here is skewed in that it does not punish severe crimes (rape) severely enough (especially when the perpetrator is a local) and punishes insignificant crimes (e.g. possession of miniscule amounts of hash) far, far too severely.

What do you think?

its UAE I'm more worried about slavery myself

DUBAI, UAE
<snip>
An Italian visitor was given FOUR YEARS for possession of 0.01 gram - that's right, a mere 1/100th of a gram! FOUR YEARS! That's a bit over the top, surely?
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/06/05/10130143.html
<snip>
What do you think?

Ignoring for the moment my own take on personal liberties, which rail against most prohibitions.... 0.01g, a hundredth of a gram!

These thoughts occurred....

What does 0.01g of hash even look like? a flea? a speck of dust?

What kind of detection equipment were they using?

I'm too stunned to continue :O

What do you think?

i agree

A woman was sentenced to three months imprisonment and 120 lashes ... for adultery
Makes one wonder whether masochists admit to adultery in the UAE.

Makes one wonder whether masochists admit to adultery in the UAE.



It's ironic. The lash has just been banned throughout the UAE for all non-muslims. Muslims can still be whipped tho' (apparently it's acceptable because it's in the Koran).

Before the ban came in, non-muslims (read white, western, expats) could opt to be lashed instead of do jail time. So, say for example, you got four months in the slammer for engaging in the crime of consensual sex ('Woman and lover get suspended sentence http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/04/30/10122013.html) then if you were a non-muslim you could opt for the lashes instead.

Can't do that anymore now that they've banned the lash for non-muslims. It's almost worth converting for :p

Can't do that anymore now that they've banned the lash for non-muslims. It's almost worth converting for :p
Damn! Can't get it in UAE anymore, huh?

reminds me of a joke:
a masochist and a sadist are lying in bed together.
The masochist begs, "beat me"
The sadist says, "no"

Most penalties are over the top when it comes to simple possession for personal use. It's just asinine the sentences that are handed down to people who have drugs for their own PERSONAL use that they aren't trafficking to others.

Most penalties are over the top when it comes to simple possession for personal use. It's just asinine the sentences that are handed down to people who have drugs for their own PERSONAL use that they aren't trafficking to others.
you never know. The guy who had 1/100th of a g might have been a mule for someone with a very small drug habit. very very small.

you never know. The guy who had 1/100th of a g might have been a mule for someone with a very small drug habit. very very small.

Sounds like that's not profitable for either party.

Sounds like that's not profitable for either party.
maybe not, but drug addicts are rarely able to think straight now, are they?

maybe not, but drug addicts are rarely able to think straight now, are they?

1/100 gram of any substance wouldn't be enough to satisfy an addiction

and how many drug addicts have you actually met? do you have any direct knowledge of the effects of drug addiction or have you just watched a lot of CSI episodes?

maybe not, but drug addicts are rarely able to think straight now, are they?

They prefer LARGER quantities so they don't have to do without. It's cheaper to buy more at once than to buy such a small amount. The more you buy, the cheaper it is. The less you buy the more it costs.

1/100 gram of any substance wouldn't be enough to satisfy an addiction

would if the addict in question was also quite tiny

Oh dear...

Brilliant!:D

Damn! Can't get it in UAE anymore, huh?

reminds me of a joke:
a masochist and a sadist are lying in bed together.
The masochist begs, "beat me"
The sadist says, "no"

Not that I'm likely to go to this place (something about countries where women are routinely treated like crap and/or not allowed to leave the house by themselves just doesn't sit well with me), but if I did, I'd have to buy a new backpack...

DUBAI, UAE

What do you think?

The drug laws are more humane than the drug laws in Indonesia. They also have a very low crime rate in Dubai.

Things to never to in the UAE:
Stay there.


They scare me there.

Not that I'm likely to go to this place (something about countries where women are routinely treated like crap and/or not allowed to leave the house by themselves just doesn't sit well with me), but if I did, I'd have to buy a new backpack...

You've got a slight misconception about the UAE. For the Middle East, it's a very liberal place.

Women can drive, earn money, wear bikinis on the beach, women can wear standard western clothing (for instance, lots of women are wandering around in shorts, sandals/flip flops and vests) yadda yadda yadda.
It gets very prejudiced against women in the court and police system but, in everyday life, it's actually prejudiced against men!

Consider - women, because they are women, get better deals on banking products than men. Ladies generally get a better deal on all financial products than men...

They have special sections reserved for them on the public transport systems that men cannot access

'Ladies Night' in a bar somewhere in Dubai, every night. Ladies Night = free or cheap beer

Ladies, get a date whenever you want - it's easier to date/pull in Dubai if you are a woman. There's a 4:1 male to female imbalance among the western educated expatriate workforce (it's even more skewed, something like 16:1 among the non-western workforce).

Ladies only taxis (so if a ladies only taxi pulls by, and it's empty, I can't hail it because I am a man)

Ladies only queues in the supermarkets ... if the supermarket is heaving with shoppers, Ladies can just sail on through...

Easy access to bars and nightclubs... Ladies will always be allowed into bars and nightclubs (often at reduced prices). Men, whether by themselves or in a group, have a very high chance of being turned away

I could go on and on ... but I won't.


Insofar as discrimination of women goes, you need to go to Saudi to see real discrimination - women can't vote, not allowed to drive a car, must wear the abaya and the burqa and so on and so on.

You really don't want to go to Saudi. Ever.

They also have a very low crime rate in Dubai.

This is the biggest lie ever put about. There's loads of crime in Dubai ... it's just that the media here is censored and you never hear about it. If you live here, you know the truth.

Things to never to in the UAE:
Stay there.


Or pay any form of corporate or income tax, ever. :D

It's the only reason I'm here.