DUBAI, 6 July 2006 — Famous US hip-hop music producer Dallas Austin, who was sentenced to four years in jail in Dubai on a drugs charge, left the Gulf emirate yesterday after being pardoned, one of his lawyers said.
Austin, who was pardoned just hours after being sentenced on Tuesday, flew out of Dubai to the United States, Bahraini lawyer Qays Al-Zu’bi said. Another legal source involved in the case confirmed that the pardon had been granted by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktum.
Austin had pleaded guilty in a Dubai court on Sunday to possessing 1.26 grams of cocaine and five-and-a-half capsules containing banned substances including cocaine.
He was sentenced to four years in jail followed by deportation for bringing in and possessing drugs for personal use. The pardon covered the jail term while the deportation had to go ahead, the legal source said. The Grammy-award winning producer was arrested at Dubai airport on May 19 as he arrived in the UAE to attend a three-day birthday bash for British supermodel Naomi Campbell. Austin said he had “forgotten” to get rid of the drugs before coming into the country.
Rulers in the Gulf region and other Arab countries often declare amnesties for criminal offenders on major occasions. In 2005, the Dubai criminal court had previously released Prasad Bidappa, the Indian fashion designer from Bangalore, who was detained at Dubai International Airport for carrying cannabis for “personal use.”
The court had released him on the first day of his trial after considering a mercy petition by his wife Judith Bidappa. In another case in 2005, Indian film actor Vijay Raaz was arrested at the Abu Dhabi International Airport with six grams of marijuana in his hand luggage. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi had rendered all the assistance for Vijay, and within nine days, after appearing in the court, he flew back to Bombay.
According to one legal expert, the four-year jail sentence handed down to Austin is the normal punishment under emirati law for possession of drugs for personal use.
