What are the Penalties for Kidnapping in UAE?

Posted by Al Rowaad Advocates & Legal Consultants on June 10th, 2021

Kidnapping is considered as a wrongdoing of persuasively abducting an individual and holding him/her without wanting to his/her will. It is not a reoccurring offense like any other regular violation, however, it causes a serious impact even done once. The victim is unaware of the frightening situation as detained beyond his will. As witnessed by Criminal Lawyers of Dubai, there are different types of kidnapping such as child abduction, parent child abduction, random kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping. On the off chance if you are accused of kidnapping in Dubai you will deal with severe indictments. In such circumstance, reaching out to the Best Lawyers of Dubai will ensure safety of your entitlements.

The Criminal Penal Code of UAE (Federal Law No. 3 of 1987) under Article 344 penalizes the act of kidnapping and reads as follows:“anyone whosoever illegally kidnaps, arrests or detain any individual from his/her freedom by any means and whether by himself or through a mediator shall be sentenced to imprisonment.”

In accordance with the foregoing provision, the simple act of detaining or depriving anyone of his freedom shall constitute a criminal act under Article 344 and will be subject to adequate punishment, temporary or permanent. Nevertheless, the court is empowered to increase the penalty in specific cases to life imprisonment which are as follows:

a. If the kidnapping is conducted by impersonating a public official or pretending to be a public authority;
b. If the accused used any source of threat to abduct the individual or child or threaten to cause any bodily harm;
c. If the accused was carrying any lethal or armed weapon to conduct kidnapping;
d. In cases where the kidnapper detains the child or individual for more than a month;
e. In cases where the accused undertook such an act to earn money, to take any sort of revenge, to rape the victim, to cause
any bodily harm or to perpetrate him to commit any criminal activity;
f. In case if the victim was a female, minor or insane person;
g. If the act was committed against any public service official during his duties.

Furthermore, any crime of kidnapping if leads to the demise of the victim will lead to life imprisonment of the accused. Additionally, any intermediation in performing kidnapping will also bear the same punishment as that of committing kidnapping as confirmed by the Penal Code under Article 344.

Most importantly, Article 345 in line with criminal jurisprudence gives any criminal or kidnapper an opportunity to come clean and avoid harsh penalties, if he willingly provides information about the kidnapping and the place where the victim is kept. The provision reads as below:
“the accused shall be exempted from the punishment of kidnapping, the individual who persistently shows to the legal authority, prior to the identification of the spot of the captured individual, the whereabouts of this last mentioned and uncovers the personality of other guilty parties which resulted in rescue of the kidnapped person.”
The punishment for kidnapping is simple and straightforward from temporary imprisonment to life imprisonment and removing any harsh penalties for those confessing to the police authorities to rescue the kidnapped.