UAE: Drinker Escapes Getting Lashed

A man sentenced to lashes for drinking alcohol has escaped being flogged after being cleared by the UAE’s top court.

Prosecutors in Ajman charged the Emirati with illegal alcohol consumption and insulting a police officer who caught him drinking.

Officers said the man had insulted the policeman when he and his colleague searched his house to see if he had alcohol on the premises.

Ajman’s first instance court found the man guilty and ordered that he be given 80 lashes. He was also fined Dhs1,000 for insulting a policeman.

But he challenged the ruling, with his lawyer arguing that officers searched his house without getting written permission from public prosecutors, which is illegal.

The Federal Supreme Court cleared him.