DOHA: A higher criminal court here has overturned the ruling of a lower court sentencing a GCC national to 15 years in jail for peddling and smoking hashish.
In a landmark judgment, the Criminal Court of Appeals said that there was no evidence to show that the accused had possessed, used or trafficked in the drug.
The lower court had also fined the accused QR200,000 ($55,000). But the higher court, where the accused went in appeal, challenging the lower court’s ruling, said the investigation conducted by the police in the matter was faulty.
“The man is innocent,” said the appeals court, local Arabic daily Al Raya reported on Thursday.
The investigators didn’t furnish any evidence that the accused was either in possession of hashish or was peddling or using it.
Witnesses denied in the court having seen the accused peddle or use the drug, and even the medical report said that he had not used the drug when he was taken into custody.
The driver of the accused told the court that he had never seen him smoke or peddle drugs.
The higher court asked the investigators why the house of the accused or his car was not searched when he was suspected of such a serious crime and when they had a search warrant issued to them by the Public Prosecution.
And, when the man was caught, he did not throw out of the window any material, which would indicate that he was smoking hashish and had thrown it away on seeing the police.
The man was caught in Al Dafna area of Doha. The court said the investigation was not conducted properly and raised many doubts about it.
The accused also didn’t confess to allegations made by the prosecution in charges filed in the court.
The accused had been sentenced by the lower court in absentia and when he returned to the country he appealed against the verdict.
The defence lawyer for the accused was Ghanem Ali Al Kubaisi.
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