Grooverider sentenced..
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
This is a story I have been following since November, having been a Drum and Bass DJ for 8+ years and hearing a lot of sets from this man. Basically he was arrested at Dubai airport for possession of cannabis and hardcore pornography. As many of you will know (or maybe not), drugs and pornography are a major issue in Dubai, with minimum sentences of 4 years for most convictions, one noticeable let-off being Dallas Austin (an R&B producer in the states with good connections, supposedly pardoned despite having Cocaine on him).
There seems to be a lot of debate going around on the ‘net about this, on one hand he was stupid not to check his luggage before he went, which is entirely he is own fault. If you don’t know how harsh the law is in islamic states then you should definitely read up before you go, you would be a fool not too. I went during ramadan in 2007 and checked everything I had regardless (not saying I do drugs btw), but you never know from your travels what may have slipped into your bags, and the smallest amout of anything out there will put you in jail, even prescription drugs from your doctor! On the other hand the sentencing in Dubai and other islamic countries seems very mis-balanced, serious crimes such as Rape can carry the same sentence as Drug of Pornography possession, so did he deserve this sentence?
In conclusion he will learn a serious lesson from this, as he should. Maybe he will be pardoned in Ramadan next year, maybe not. I feel very sorry for his family that have had to go through this, and hope he returns as soon as possible. Maybe its time to give up smoking Groove?
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