The UAE is to decriminalise attempted suicide as part of amendments to the country's Crimes and Penalties Law.
A previous amendment in 2020 to the legislation on attempted suicide gave judges the discretion to offer mental health treatment as an alternative to prison.
“The removal of criminal liability for attempted suicide recognises that someone experiencing a crisis needs care and support,” said Dr Hassan Elhais, a lawyer at Amal Al Rashedi Lawyers and Legal Consultants.
“Removing the fear of prosecution can encourage people to seek help earlier and give families greater confidence to request urgent assistance.”
This improves the chances of early intervention, provides the care and support needed, and supports suicide prevention efforts, state news agency Wam said.
The new laws also lay out penalties for those whose actions cause someone to try to take their own life.
A three-to-five year prison sentence awaits anyone convicted of causing somebody to attempt suicide, who then suffers a serious injury or permanent disability as a result.
If someone's actions are found to have caused another person to take their own life, the sentence is increased to up seven years in prison. If someone causes a person under the age of 18 to attempt suicide, the charge is raised to premeditated murder. Foreign citizens found guilty of these charges face deportation.
The amendments include imposing a minimum prison sentence of 15 years for those convicted of intentionally killing someone. Under the new rules, even if a family of a victim waive their right to qisas, which entitles them to seek the maximum punishment, the offender must still serve 15 to 20 years in prison.
“This amendment strengthens the effectiveness of legal deterrence,” Wam reported. “It balances the right of the victim's heirs to concede their right to qisas, and the requirements of the public right and the protection of society from extremely serious crimes, within a justice system that safeguards rights and supports security and societal stability.”
Previously it had been the case that an offender still had to serve a minimum of seven years in prison, even if the victim's family waived their right to qisas.
“The 2026 amendments make the law easier to apply in two sensitive areas: they preserve a 15 to 20-year prison sentence after a family waives qisas in an intentional-killing case, and they set clearer, outcome-based penalties for anyone who encourages or assists another person’s suicide,” said Nikhat Sardar Khan, a Dubai-based lawyer.
