Appeals court overturns jail for citizen in drugs use case

‘Social media can wreck homes’

By Jaber Al-Hamoud

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 24: The Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Adel Al-Huweidi, overturned the verdict of the First Instance Court which sentenced a citizen to 10 years in prison with hard labor for the acquisition and possession of narcotics with the intention to sell.

The higher court settled for the time that the citizen served in the Central Jail while the case was being heard.

Case files indicate the accused was arrested in the act of selling narcotics to an undercover police in Mahboula. When the officers searched him, they found in his possession brain stimulants which are considered narcotics.

Before the arrest, the officers obtained a warrant from the Public Prosecution after investigations led to the suspect.

Representing the citizen was Attorney En’aam Haydar who demanded for the acquittal of her client on grounds that the investigations were inconclusive and there was no substantial evidence for the officer to request an arrest warrant on her client, in addition to the small quantity of narcotics.

Social media harmful:

Haydar

Legal research prepared by Lawyer Hawra Al-Habeeb indicates that there are 300 cases that resulted in the dropping of custody of children from either their mothers or fathers because of social networking websites, which have become a platform of blackmail between couples in the court through the use of pictures and posts to prove bad reputation.

According to the research, the number of cases filed in this regard in the year 2015 was more than 2,000. This statistics was compiled from information provided by several lawyers who represented their clients at the court.

The social media is not only the reason behind the destruction of marital houses and one of the reasons for divorces in the recent years but it has also become a tool used by estranged couples in the court of law to demand for the dropping of custody of their children.

Regarding the custody of children, the research explained that in 2015, this issue took third place in the list of the top subjects for family counseling by couples who seek advice. The top two subjects are litigant law and divorce law.

Lawyer Al-Habeeb said many mothers, after receiving the custody of their children through the courts, lost the custody because of their online posts. However, not everything that is presented before the court qualifies for dropping custody of the children from one of their parents.

Detention extended:

The Public Prosecution Department ordered continued detention of a lawyer until Wednesday for smuggling his father out of a court premises in an attempt to avoid the latter’s detention, and released the father on KD 1000 bail.

The lawyer confirmed that his father was summoned by the Public Prosecution after he forced a debtor to sign a promissory note, so he aided his father to flee the justice palace when he felt the prosecutor in charge was going to detain him.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Lawyers Association expressed displeasure and serious concern over the incident. It affirmed the profession is considered to be a shield of justice in protecting the oppressed; therefore, it provides shelter for oppressed in a democratic setting.