CANADIANS ABROAD ANTI-NARCOTICS OFFICIAL FEARS STRICT SENTENCE

Counting the days before Dubai judges rule on drug charges against
Canadian anti-narcotics official Bert Tatham, his family is alarmed
about the sentences that have been meted out for the possession of far
smaller amounts of drugs.

Dubai courts recently sentenced a British man to four years in jail
for the possession of just 0.07 grams of hashish. An Italian received
the same sentence for carrying a mere 0.01 grams.

Mr. Tatham, carrying 0.6 grams of hashish and two dried poppy flowers,
was arrested in April on his way through the tiny Arab emirate. He was
returning to Canada after anti-narcotics work in Afghanistan.

A three-judge panel will rule Tuesday whether Mr. Tatham, who remains
in detention, is guilty of drug possession and possession with the
intent to distribute the drugs.

Dubai's penal code, a mix of Islamic Sharia law and British law,
dictates a maximum of four years in jail for possession. A 1996 law
says trafficking is punishable by death.