KUWAIT CITY, April 6: The Court of Cassation upheld the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals, which overturned the verdict of the First Instance Court that sentenced a citizen to 10 years in prison with hard labor for smuggling hashish. The highest court then acquitted the citizen of bringing hashish through air cargo for personal consumption and trafficking. Attorney An’am Haidar, the defendant’s lawyer, asserted that investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigations Department in the Interior Ministry were invalid due to lack of seriousness. She pointed out the suspicions that surrounded such measures, indicating the evidence presented by her client that he committed the crimes attributed to him by the Public Prosecution was not enough to satisfy the court. The court stated in its ruling that the testimony of the customs inspector -- the primary witness in the prosecution’s investigations, stated that when he inspected the airborne parcel, he found a quantity of dried plants and two pieces that he suspected were narcotics. He informed his superior and handed over the parcel. The court concluded that this evidence is not enough to convict the defendant, as it could not be used as evidence against him.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff