A Dubai court on Sunday rejected the bail requests of five foreigners being tried on various drug charges in the United Arab Emirates, a place where drug trafficking can mean death.
The five are facing hefty penalties in Dubai for charges ranging from drug use to trafficking.
Daniel Mallouf, Anne Hamilton, and Anne Kidd, who were identified in court documents as Britons, were convicted on drug related earlier this year in Ras Al-Khaimah. It is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.
Kidd and Hamilton had their life sentences reduced to 10 years, and Mallouf's 10-year sentence was reduced to four.
They are now facing new drug charges in Dubai. If convicted in Dubai, they will serve their Ras Al-Khaima sentences first, then be deported after serving additional time in Dubai.
Britons Stacey Simpson and Catherine Jenkins also appeared in Dubai court. Simpson is charged with trafficking, possession and use, and Jenkins with trafficking and possession.
All five of the accused entered pleas of innocent at a December 30 hearing. After the denial of bail Sunday, the hearing was adjourned until January 13.
Since 1995 the maximum penalty for drug trafficking is the death sentence.