A 64-year-old expatriate inmate suffering from acute diabetes and many other health disorders has been freed on humanitarian grounds. The Indian national took a flight to his home country last evening.
Shahul Hameed was arrested in 2003 and was sentenced to life after the court found him guilty of illegally possessing narcotic substances. He has been serving the sentence for the last 19 years.
On June 9, 2003, Shahul, then a resident of Saudi Arabia, was returning from Chennai after completing his vacation. He was asked to carry baggage from Chennai by one of his close friends in Saudi and he did it without any suspicion.
He was transiting through Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and was arrested upon arrival by authorities at Bahrain International Airport after the baggage he carried was found to have narcotic substances.
He was cheated and trapped. He has been a decent man throughout his life with no criminal antecedents in India or Saudi Arabia. His family also suffered badly as he was the only breadwinner.
