Advertisement
Advertisement

UAE pardons Israeli jailed on drugs charges, Israel says

By:
Reuters
Updated: Mar 25, 2023, 21:36 UTC

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has pardoned and released an Israeli woman who was jailed for drug trafficking last year and had initially faced execution, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Saturday.

UAE pardons Israeli jailed on drugs charges, Israel says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has pardoned and released an Israeli woman who was jailed for drug trafficking last year and had initially faced execution, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Saturday.

Fidaa Kiwan’s death sentence had been commuted to life in jail, but following Israeli appeals for clemency she was pardoned by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in honour of the Ramadan holy month, Herzog said in a statement.

The UAE’s government media office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for confirmation or comment.

Kiwan was en route back to Israel, Herzog’s statement said, adding that her family had argued that her conviction was due to her having “fallen victim to a ruse”. It did not elaborate.

Israel and the UAE established relations in 2020 as part of a U.S.-sponsored diplomatic drive. After Kiwan’s arrest, Israeli officials said the lack of extradition deals in the fledgling bilateral ties made negotiating her repatriation difficult.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Mills; Writing by Dan Williams)

About the Author

Reuterscontributor

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:

Did you find this article useful?

Advertisement