Yahoo News Iranian model in Dubai Central Prison records rap song for Sheikh Mohammed
A Swedish-Iranian model caught outside the Burj Khalifa with 21g of cocaine has released a rap song asking Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid for a pardon.
Farzan Athari, 29, has been in prison since his arrest on May 14, 2013. He was sentenced to life in prison (which amounts to 25 years under UAE law) for possession of drugs with intent to promote. The sentence was later reduced to 10 years.
“I got entrapped,” Athari claims on his Tumblr blog. “I ask for Mercy because everybody has made a mistake at some point in their life.”
The song, titled Save My Life – Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, was recorded from a phone booth in Dubai Central Prison.
“Save my life, save my life. I need you to forgive me. I’m asking you Your Highness,” Athari sings on the video dedicated to Sheikh Mohammed.
The song transitions into a rap in which he extols the virtues of Dubai and explains how he was living in the Burj Khalifa after achieving success in the emirate by modeling and presenting on TV for two years.
In the song, Athari blames his current situation on falling into the wrong crowd of friends. But he insists in his song: “I really want you to know, I didn’t use drugs. I always said no, no matter where I was.”
Athari’s 10-year sentence is not unusual in Dubai, which has a well-publicised zero-tolerance policy for drugs.
In 2005, a 65-year-old Emirati man received a life sentence for possessing 850 grams of khat.
A pharmacist working at a private hospital in Dubai was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of selling a bottle of medicine containing codeine without prescription.
A British man found in possession of 160g of cocaine was sentenced to life in prison in October 2014, although another court overturned the conviction on account of “poor evidence”.
During Athari’s court case, police testified that an informant had told them Athari was in possession of drugs and looking for a buyer. After searching Athari, police found cocaine in his pockets. As Athari raps in his song, court records show his drug test was returned clean.
The video is accompanied by a petition, which is hosted on his website.
Watch the video here:
