SAUDI JUDGE AREST

Saudi judge arrested in Dubai on drug charge AFP

DUBAI: A Saudi judge has been arrested in Dubai on charges of possessing and using drugs, a newspaper reported yesterday. Hamad Salim bin Naif, who served as head of a Shariah court, was arrested along with his Moroccan wife after police raided their room in a Dubai hotel on Friday and found four grams of hashish in his possession, the Khaleej Times said. The suspect confessed that he and his wife take drugs and said he brought the confiscated hashish for their personal use, the newspaper reported, citing a Dubai police source. Saudi courts impose tough penalties for drug-related charges, and drug trafficking is punishable by death in the Kingdom. The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member, also imposes severe penalties for all drug-related offenses. Four years in prison is the usual sentence for possession while trafficking carries the death penalty.