Guide — Criminal Defence
If you have been arrested in Dubai — or someone close to you has — do three things now. Say nothing of substance until you have a lawyer. Sign nothing you cannot read. And call +971 50 858 3520, any hour. Under UAE law, the first 48 hours shape everything that follows.
Do not resist, argue, or obstruct the officers. Nothing said at the scene of an arrest helps you; a great deal can hurt you. Physical cooperation is not an admission of anything — it simply keeps your options intact.
You cannot be compelled to incriminate yourself, and your silence is not treated as an admission of guilt. Confirm your identity, be courteous, and say clearly that you wish to speak with your lawyer before making any statement. Then stop talking — including in the police vehicle, in holding, and on the phone.
Statements are recorded in Arabic. If you do not speak Arabic, you are entitled to an official interpreter. Before signing anything, ask for it to be read back to you, through the interpreter, in a language you understand. A signed statement is very difficult to walk back later.
You are entitled to consult and appoint a lawyer, and in the most serious felonies the court must appoint one at the state's expense at trial. But trial is months away, and by then the record is written. The decisive intervention happens in the first days: what is said to the police, what is said to the Public Prosecution, and whether bail is properly argued. Our emergency line — +971 50 858 3520 — is answered 24/7, and a partner engages from the first call.
You may ask for your embassy or consulate to be informed of your detention. Consular staff can visit you, monitor your welfare, and help your family make contact. They cannot get you released and they cannot give legal advice — but the visibility protects you.
The UAE Criminal Procedures Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2022, in force since March 2023) sets hard deadlines:
The Public Prosecution interview is not a formality. It is formal questioning by the authority that decides whether you are detained, bailed, charged, or released — and it happens, by law, within roughly 72 hours of arrest. Going into it without counsel, or with a strategy improvised in the corridor, is how weak cases become strong ones for the prosecution. Preparation before this interview is the single most valuable thing a defence lawyer does in week one.
Pretrial detention requires justification — flight risk, risk to evidence, or risk to public safety. Where those are answerable, bail is realistic: typically a financial guarantee, often with surrender of your passport. A travel ban may be imposed during the investigation and is lifted when its reason ends — settlement where the law allows it, dismissal, acquittal, or execution of the sentence. Each of these is an application a lawyer can prepare, argue, and, where refused, challenge.
Our founding team includes a retired Brigadier General who headed Dubai Police investigation sections, a King's Counsel, and a solicitor with over two decades in serious and financial crime in the UK's highest courts. From every side of the process, we have seen the same pattern: the direction of a criminal case is set early — in the first statement, the first interview, the first bail decision. Get those right and the strongest version of your defence stays available. Get them wrong and you spend the rest of the case recovering ground.
Detained, or expecting to be? Call +971 50 858 3520 now. Every conversation is confidential.
If your statement does not justify release, the police must present you to the Public Prosecution within 48 hours (Article 48, Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2022). The prosecution must question you within 24 hours and decide whether to detain or release you. Prosecution detention runs up to 7 days, renewable for not more than a further 14; beyond that, only a criminal court judge may extend it, in renewable periods of up to 30 days.
Yes — you may consult and appoint a lawyer, and in felonies punishable by death or life imprisonment the court must appoint one at the state's expense at trial if you have none. Do not wait for that stage: the case is usually decided by what happens in the first days, not at trial.
You must identify yourself, but you cannot be compelled to incriminate yourself. You have the right to remain silent, and silence is not an admission of guilt. Say that you wish to speak with your lawyer first.
Proceedings and statements are in Arabic, and you are entitled to an official interpreter. Never sign a document you cannot read — have it read back in your language first.
Bail is discretionary — decided by the Public Prosecution during investigation and by the court after referral. It usually combines a financial guarantee with passport surrender. Detention must be justified by flight risk, risk to evidence, or risk to public safety; a prepared bail application at the first hearing makes a real difference.
No. Consular staff can visit, monitor your welfare, and connect you with family and lawyers — but they cannot intervene in the case or secure release. Ask for notification anyway; the visibility matters.
Possibly — travel bans can be imposed during investigation, and passport surrender is a common bail condition. Bans lift when their reason ends (settlement where permitted, dismissal, acquittal, or execution of sentence), and the Ministry of Justice has moved towards automatic lifting when court cases conclude. Where grounds exist, a lawyer can apply to lift a ban earlier.
This guide is general information about UAE law, current at the date above. It is not legal advice on your situation, and reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship — see our website terms. For advice on your case, call us.
Detained or under investigation? The first call matters most.
Call +971 50 858 3520