Dati's brother held on drug charges

The brother of French politician Rachida Dati has been imprisoned in Belgium after being arrested in possession of heroin and marijuana on Wednesday afternoon. Jamal Dati was allegedly carrying some 30 grammes of heroin and five grammes of marijuana.

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His case was adjourned in Liège Thursday and he is being held in custody on charges of importing drugs. Jamal Dati, 38, was sentenced to 12 months in prison in August 2007 for dealing drugs in eastern France.

Last year, he published a book of interviews entitled A l’ombre de Rachida (In the shadow of Rachida) in which he described his difficult relationship with his older sister, the former Justice Minister.

Another brother, Omar, was sentenced in December 2007 to eight months in jail for dealing drugs, and in 2001 he was given a four-month suspended sentence for dealing heroin.

Rachida Dati is a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party and mayor of Paris’s seventh arrondissement.