There is no Alternative to Right Legal Advice: A Story of Struggle and Triumph
“I pray not even my enemies go through what I have faced in the past few months.” These were the words of a youth who had gone through a torturous time stuck in legal troubles in the UAE. Due to confidentiality reasons, we are not disclosing the name of the young man.
Background
The young man who hails from Mallapuram, Kerala (India), was arrested from the airport while traveling to Kerala for his upcoming wedding. The police informed him that he is being arrested for theft. Moreover, he had been punished with a 6-month jail term and deportation.
Both his bag and cell phone were confiscated, and he was sent to jail. He managed to make his first phone call after a few days and informed his friends and relatives. Call it bad luck he was arrested just 2 days before the UAE government issued a lockdown due to the Covid19 pandemic. None of his friends or relatives were able to help him due to travel restrictions. Even after many efforts by his friends and relatives, nothing positive turned out for the youth.
After 2 months of jail term, he was released. During the release, he signed on some papers without realizing what was mentioned in them. He mistook the papers to be the forms for getting his passport back again. He started working on the procedures to return to India.
After losing all hopes, he came to a standstill, that’s when one of his friends suggested him to meet our lawyers in the Sharjah office. After going through a thorough investigation with legal departments, our experts realized the gravity of the case and charges against the youth.
The Case
The youth was charged with theft of a laptop and AED100 from a stationary car. He was the prime accused in that case. He was charged with a criminal offense.
The irony of the situation was that the youth was unaware of the theft and charges against him. The theft occurred when it was parked elsewhere, not in front of the cafeteria, where the youth worked. Forensic investigators found his fingerprints on the car, and that became the prime evidence against him. When police tried to get in touch with him on his registered phone number, it connected them to another person in Kerala. The trial in court continued in his absence and based on circumstantial evidence the youth was sentenced to 6 months jail term and deportation.
He was caught by surprise at the airport. His lack of knowledge in English and Arabic increased his trouble. He had absolutely no clarity on why he was arrested. Without reading, he signed on several documents. He signed on the letter of acknowledgment for reappearing for the next court hearing. When police tried to connect to him, they were not able to reach him. The phone was still in the custody of the police. He was under the impression that he is released for good and the case on his name is over. When he received no news from the police, he finally decided to contact us.
When the case reached our office, our lawyers realized the time to appeal in High court has already passed. Our lawyer helped him draft an application for the judge to make them aware of the accused person’s condition and how much he has suffered because of it. Our lawyers’ compelling application helped the youth. Because of the application, the judge permitted to re-appeal on humanitarian grounds. This is an extremely rare scenario when anyone has this kind of success with the UAE law department.
The lockdown and unemployment increased the financial troubles of the youth. He expressed his inability to pay our legal fees. Our CEO Adv. Abdul Karim Bin Eid decided to represent the client himself at a nominal fee.
The aggressive defense pointed out the lack of solid evidence against the client. The legal knowledge and strong representation made the court rule in favour of the accused. He was acquitted from all charges.
The youth finally returned to his hometown with the hope of starting a new life. He is happy and proud to go back to society as an innocent man without any criminal record.
Take Away From This
- Timely and correct legal advice is essential.
- Do not consult a friend or relative about the legal issues. They may have your best interest at heart, but they lack the legal expertise.
- Refrain from signing on any document unless you understand them completely.
- For immigrants, your phone number is the primary mode of contact for authorities. Do update in case you change the number.
- Right legal advice may sound expensive, but it proves profitable in the end.
- We can’t reach out and help you with your legal troubles. You will have to make an effort and seek the right legal advice.
We always strive to make it easier for our clients to reach us. There are multiple ways to contact us. If in case you can’t travel, you can always pre-book for Paid legal consultations over phone or video calls. We have experience in solving some of the most complex legal cases. Our lawyers and their knowledge helped our clients to get winning results. And we are doing that for over 20 years now.