DUBAI: The former director of a Dubai jail and 24 wardens and police officers have been sentenced to prison terms for beating up inmates during a check for drugs, newspapers reported yesterday.
Al-Ittihad daily said the men were all accused of “abuse of power and ill-treatment of detainees under their guard.”
The former director and six wardens and officers were sentenced to six months in prison while 18 others received three-month sentences.
According to statements from the men who were attacked, the accused formed a double row outside the cells and ordered the men to come out. As they moved between the two lines, the wardens and police kicked and beat them. The assault allegedly took place on Aug. 1 last year.
One convict, an Armenian, suffered blows to his spine, and the trial judge declared “it was clear that the detainees have been beaten.” Around a dozen convicts had complained about being assaulted.
Defense counsel questioned the reliability of the detainees’ statements and a recording taken from one of the prison surveillance cameras. They said they would appeal against the verdict.
“It is a tough ruling. I was surprised as I was expecting some of them to be acquitted. We will be appealing within two weeks,” said defense lawyer Ali Mousabbeh Dhahi.
