A British football coach who was jailed for 25 years in Dubai for owning CBD vape oil has been reduced to 10 years on appeal.
Comes after the United Arab Emirates he recently said he would introduce new laws that would mean that foreigners in possession of products containing THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis, could be deported instead of imprisoned as long as it is their first crime.
Billy Hood, 25, of Kensington, London, was working as a football coach in the UAE when police discovered four small bottles of CBD cannabis oil and a spray pen in his car and arrested him. January 31st.
He was convicted of drug trafficking intended to be supplied by a court and has been maintained ever since.
CBD oil, which is derived from cannabis, is legal in the UK, but as it sometimes contains trace elements of THC, it is not tolerated by strict UAE drug laws.
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Mr Hood was initially sentenced to 25 years in prison
Mr Hood says the bottles and pen were left in his car by a friend he had driven to the airport two weeks before his arrest, and that he was forced to sign a confession written in Arabic after been detained in appalling conditions for four days. .
He says he was denied a translator and was told he would not be released from his cell, where he was detained with 30 other men and given only bread and water unless he signed the document.
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On Tuesday, her mother, Breda Guckion, said she felt “broken” by the latest legal ruling, adding: “It’s very confusing. How can this have increased to the point that she’s done it?
“I tried not to have my hopes up for today as I knew something like this could happen, but now I have to deal with the possibility that I might not see my child before Christmas and I can’t tell you how I feel broken. “
The Detained in Dubai campaign group, which is pushing for the release of the British man, said: a visiting friend.
“They accept that he” unwittingly possessed “the CBD, but they have sentenced him to 10 years in prison, despite the new legislation eliminating prison sentences for foreigners in possession and allowing deportation.”
Radha Stirling, executive director of Detained in Dubai, said: “The United Arab Emirates has just stated that it will remove prison sentences for foreigners in possession of THC products, opting for deportation, but this law will not enter in force until January 2022 and cannot be applied retroactively “.
He added: “Dubai police were extremely negligent when they accused Billy Hood of trafficking and selling the CBD mini-vape oil bottles found in his car.
“They turned what in the worst case would have been a small possession case into a federal case that has seen him locked up for almost a year and faces life in Abu Dhabi.
“There was no evidence of trafficking and sales. Dubai’s excessive persecution has ruined the young man’s life and left him and his family in hell.
“Billy was forced to confess to federal crimes with promises of his imminent release. He was given a carrot and a stick so some prosecutor could get his dues. It’s too familiar a story.”
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Mr Hood’s mother, Breda Guckion (pictured with Billy’s brother Alex), says she feels “broken”
The Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a clemency application to release Billy and request created by the family has attracted nearly 160,000 signatures.
“We pray every day for Billy’s release,” said Billy’s brother, Alex.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said: “We are providing consular support to a British man who has been imprisoned in the UAE. We are in contact with his family in the UK.”
Earlier this year, the UAE government said: ‘The Directorate General of Drug Control (GDDC) received a notice that Mr Billy Hood owned quantities of synthetic cannabis oil with the intention of selling it’ ls.
“As a result, Mr. Hood was arrested on February 2, 2021 and later charged with drug trafficking, following the search of the vehicle he was driving.
“Mr Hood was found to have quantities of synthetic cannabis oil, scientifically known as ‘MDMB-4en-PINACA’.
Police search of Mr Hood’s vehicle found cannabis oil, substantial amounts of cash, an electronic hookah, several bottles and storage boxes and 570 individual cartridges used to vaporize substances.
“Mr Hood was convicted on the basis of evidence including items found in his possession, his telephone information, a third-party statement and his own confession.”
He added that Mr Hood had access to an interpreter at all times, that his decision had been made in accordance with UAE law and that the substance in question had no therapeutic use.
