Authorities in the UAE proved their sophistication and diligence in uncovering the plot behind the murder of the Hamas leader Mahmoud Al Mabhouh earlier this year and in swiftly confronting many of those who have committed financial crimes. In the past several years, however, there have been other areas in which the judicial system has been found wanting. For instance, a tourist was sentenced to four years in prison for a speck of cannabis on his shoe. A handful of former CEOs sit in prison without having been charged with a crime. An Emirati man who was convicted for murder was released, only to commit another heinous act. And most recently, an 18-year-old girl reported that she was raped by several men, only to be charged with having sex outside of marriage by the authorities before she retracted her statement.
The delicacy of this particular matter cannot be underestimated. If the woman was found guilty of deceiving the authorities, her sentence could extend to up to two years. If she was found guilty of engaging in consensual sex, her sentence could extend to life in prison. The incident presents a conundrum for women in the UAE. If a woman reports that she has been a victim of rape she also risks being charged with having sex out of wedlock. In a country where the ratio of men to women is the highest in the world, women must not feel reluctant to approach the police to report a crime for any reason.
This is sadly not the only example why broader reforms to the judicial system should be considered. The case of an Emirati man who kidnapped, raped and murdered a woman in 2004, leaving her body to rot in the mountains, is particularly concerning. While the killer was sentenced to death, he was spared this punishment when the father of the victim forgave him if he promised to devote the rest of his life to God. Last month he was back in court, accused of having participated in the gang rape of another woman.
How could he have been set free in the first place? I respect the forgiveness of the victim's father, which spared him the death sentence, but an unstable murderer should not have been let out of jail. A killer walks the streets and yet a tourist spent time in jail for inadvertently having a trace of cannabis stuck to his shoe. This unsuspecting tourist didn't serve his full sentence, but if he had, he would have found himself in the same detention centre as hardened criminals.
Newspaper reports last year indicated that certain detention centres in the UAE, which differ from jails, are overcrowded. One centre that held 230 inmates was built to hold only 40. Additionally, there was no separation between the suspects according to the nature of their crimes or the danger they presented to others. Those accused of financial fraud found themselves among drug dealers, addicts, and those accused of murder.
One reason for this overcrowding is the extended detention terms that usually occur in high profile cases of financial crimes, among other offences. The former CEO of Deyaar has been sitting in jail for over two years without charges, as has the former CEO of Tamweel. Prosecutors in the UAE can detain suspects for 21 days without charge and 30 day extensions are permitted for an indefinite amount of time.
Detainees are only allowed access to a lawyer after the police have completed their investigation. If these cases were related to terror or national security, one would be able to justify the extension of holding these suspects until the cases are cleared, but for civil offenders in the UAE who post bail, the confiscation of their passports and national ID and banning them from leaving the country should suffice.
Finally, there are cases where misdemeanours such as kissing in public result in offenders serving time in jail. An alternative would be to issue fines along with a warning of the possibility of deportation. There appears ample reason for reform of the country's judicial system. As the laws are reviewed, the premise that a person is innocent until proven guilty ought to be considered. A more distinct separation between civil and criminal law and separation of criminal and civil offenders in prisons and detention centres should also be looked at. Furthermore, no woman or man should fear approaching the state for protection.
The trust that people invest in a country's judicial system is tied to its reputation. We shouldn't allow it to be tarnished. Sultan Souud Al Qassemi is a non-resident fellow at the Dubai School of Government.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now