Officers convicted of beating suspects

One detainee suffered a ruptured eardrum as a result of a forceful 'interrogation,' the court finds.

DUBAI // Three police officer were sentenced to one month in prison by a Dubai court this morning for using unnecessary force on three suspects accused of bootlegging.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours convicted two Emirati officers and a Pakistani officer of beating the suspects during an investigation in February 2010.

Court records stated the officers, all identified as MA – the Emiratis were ages 23 and 24, and the Pakistani was 30 – used force that led to the serious injury of a detainee.

The Pakistani corporal will be deported after serving his jail term, according to the verdict.

On February 15, 2010, records said, police were tipped off about two Indians and a Pakistani who were selling alcohol illegally.

Prosecutors said the officers, who work under the Criminal investigation Division at the Bur Dubai Police Station, arrested the bootleggers in Al Qouz Industrial Area between February 18 and 20.

The alleged bootleggers – GS, 25, and AS, 24, both Indians, and a Pakistani driver MQ, 24 – were taken to the Bur Dubai Station detention area, where the officers interrogated them.

Records show the officers used force with the suspects. When they were referred for prosecution, the suspects complained of being tortured. They were referred to forensic experts after someone noticed MQ's left ear was bleeding.

The forensic report confirmed injuries, but they were mainly not severe, other than MQ’s ear injury.

The report said his eardrum had been punctured as the result of a sharp blow, leaving him with weak hearing. It said

the injury needed six months to heal; a checkup after that time showed MQ’s had hearing returned to normal.

The alleged bootleggers were all found guilty of illegal possession and selling of alcohol, and sentenced to one month in prison followed by deportation.

The verdict is subject to appeal.