A court in Abu Dhabi has sentenced an Israeli citizen to death for possession of cocaine, in a decision that represents “a major test for the new relations between the two countries,” according to the Associated Press.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed, on Tuesday, that it “is aware of the case and we are dealing with it through the consular department and our representatives in the UAE.”
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the lawyer of the accused, Fida Kiwan, 43, will appeal the decision, and it is likely that the sentence will be reduced to a long prison term.
She explained that she is a resident of Haifa and owns a photography studio. She had traveled to the Emirates to work following an invitation from one of her Palestinian acquaintances, and upon her arrival in Dubai, she settled in an apartment that had been arranged for her in advance.
A week following her arrival, the authorities arrested her on March 21, 2021, following she found half a kilogram of cocaine in the apartment, but she denied having it.
Officials with knowledge of the case told The Times of Israel that they expect the sentence to be reduced to imprisonment for an extended period of time following appeal.
Drug smuggling laws in the UAE are strict, and the penalties amount to death, but they are not implemented in many cases and are replaced by long prison terms.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that her family confirmed that she was not involved in drug trafficking and had no knowledge of the presence of drugs in the apartment, noting that she was implicated in the case by other people.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a warning to Israeli citizens who intend to visit the UAE once morest the strictness of drug-related laws there, and advised them not to violate them.
And the “Times of Israel” said that it was not the first time that an Israeli drug “smuggler” had been arrested in the UAE. Last October, Dubai arrested an Israeli of Middle Eastern origin named Khalil Desouki, on suspicion of being involved in a scheme to smuggle half a ton of cocaine to the UAE, and from There to Israel.
The “Associated Press” said that “the strict drug laws in the UAE constitute a major test for the new relations between the two countries with the two countries building these relations following the “Abraham Accords” that were signed in September 2020.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have flocked to the UAE since the signing of the agreement, and two months ago an agreement was signed to encourage tourism between the two countries.
Dubai hotels say thousands of Israeli travelers flock to it and that it has hosted an array of Israeli business conferences, holiday parties and weddings that lasted for days.
Even kosher catering companies from around the world have set up shop in the UAE, and there are plans to lay the foundation stone for the country’s first Jewish cemetery.
