DUBAI // Four men were sentenced this morning to three years in prison each for starting a fire at the Al Qusais police station's detention facility in 2009.
The men, GE, FA and AH, Emiratis, and MA, an Iranian, are all in their 20s and were being held on charges of consuming and possessing drugs, records said.
According to prosecution records at the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance, the four men endangered the lives of 65 other detainees when they set fire to their mattresses in December 2009.
Al Qusais police officials told prosecutors that men had told an employee of the food and beverage company that provides the station with food, that they would not eat their meals, records said.
A police corporal said he tried to talk to them, but they insisted on talking to the officer on duty.
Records showed that the police officer went to meet with them and they told him they had requests. They asked for cigarettes, better meals and to be treated as well as prisoners at other stations.
The officer told them that each station has its own policy and that he would convey their requests to the director, according to his testimony in records.
The officer called the station's director, who approved the request for cigarettes.
But before he could tell them, they had set fire to their mattresses, causing a massive fire that led to a ceiling collapse, records showed.
No one was injured in the firem but repairing the damage to detention cell G were cost more than Dh100,000.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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