Friday, Sep 24, 2010
Gulf News
woman was taken into custody after house searched for drugs
Dubai An Emirati prisoner with a life sentence has stitched his mouth in protest at the questioning of his elderly mother by the anti-narcotic police after she was accused of possessing heroin.
The 34-year-old prisoner who stitched his mouth and one of his eyes shut more than ten days ago said he did it because he cannot tolerate police harassing his old and ill mother.
M.K., who can barely speak, told Gulf News by phone from Dubai Central Jail that he is on hunger strike and will kill himself because anti-narcotic police detained his old mother for no reason.
“They took my mother to police headquarters in order to put pressure on me because they think I have heroin in jail,” he said.
M.K.’s old mother who is suffering from blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments, said that she was taken to police custody few days before the end of Ramadan.
“An hour or two after magrib prayers while I was sitting in the back yard of my home in Dubai more than 30 police personnel entered the house with their huge dogs,” M.K’s mother said.
“I was not wearing my hijab and I was wearing [a] revealing dress. Young police men jumped over the wall into my house. They used bad language against me. They told my that I have at heroin at home. They search each and every spot in the house,” she said.
Two children in jail
The mother said that her two children are in jail for drug cases but that does not mean the whole family are drug dealers.
“I am old woman and I was forced to go at night to police headquarters for questioning. They took my mobile phone and I was barely able to contact my daughter to come and see me,” the mother said.
She said that she was kept in police custody until the early hours of the morning when they let her to go home after taking her passport.
“They said to me that I am selling heroin like my children,” she said.
The mother said that few days later police contacted her telling her that they are sorry and they also brought her passport back to her home at night.
“I told my son M.K. in jail that I forgive police about arresting me and I understand the situation but he is refusing to remove the stitches from his mouth,” she said.
She said that she is worried about her son’s life.
“I lost one of my children last year who died due to an overdose of drugs. I don’t want to lose my other son too,” she said.
M.K. who has been in prison for two years is also HIV positive. M.K. is married and father of an eight-year-old son.
M.K. who is charged with drug trafficking, said he is innocent.
In December last year M.K. also stitched his mouth protesting his life sentence.
A police official said that M.K. sewed his lips together and has only been drinking tea, water and coffee for more than ten days. “Our social workers in jail contacted his mother to come and see him in jail to talk to him to remove the stitches but he refused even to see his mother when she came to the central jail on Monday,” police said.
The needle
Police said this is the third time M.K. has done this since being arrested two years back.
M.K. used a needle he made out of a metal thread that lines the plastic bags used to wrap bread given to inmates.
M.K. admits consuming but not trafficking drugs. In 1996, M.K. was sentenced to four years in jail for consuming drugs.
Police said M.K. was taken to the clinic in the jail for treatment.
M.K.’s brother is also in jail on drug charges. He is currently being held in solitary confinement because he fought with other prisoners.
I lost one of my children last year who died due to an overdose of drugs. I don’t want to lose my other son too.”
M.K.’s mother
Former police suspect
By Bassma Al Jandaly?Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.
