ANTI-DRUG OFFICIAL FACES NARCOTICS CHARGE

Canadian Was Working With Afghans To Find Alternatives To Poppy Farming

UNITED NATIONS - A Dubai court will rule Tuesday on drug charges
against a Canadian anti-narcotics official who was returning to
Canada after his latest tour in Afghanistan helping farmers find
alternatives to poppy cultivation.

Leading figures, including Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Helena
Guergis, have praised Bert Tatham for his work, and Canadian
officials and others say privately he is a victim of circumstance.

Prosecutors accuse Mr. Tatham, 35, of carrying 0.6 grams of hashish
- -- an almost trace amount that his lawyers said had inadvertently
become attached to his clothing because of the nature of his work.

Dubai authorities also found Mr. Tatham in possession of two
two-year-old dried poppy flowers, which have no utility to make opium
or heroin, and said tests showed he had traces of narcotics in his blood.

Dubai is a transit hub for people travelling between North America
and Afghanistan, but is also notorious among the seven United Arab
Emirates for having zero tolerance towards drugs possession.

Canada has good relations with the Dubai government, and Mr. Tatham's
family said they agree with advice they've received privately from
Canadian officials, among others, to remain patient while the court
process plays out.

"Out of respect for the judicial system in Dubai, we have tried not
to interfere, and provided all the documentation and letters of
reference that they've asked for," Chuck Tatham, Bert's brother, said
from Toronto. "We're waiting until they work through it, and hoping
they will come to the right decision, which is that he was not
intentionally doing something wrong."

But with Mr. Tatham facing a sentence of at least four years in
prison if convicted on counts of possession of narcotic substances,
and possession in order to distribute them, the family is preparing
to launch a campaign for his release if he is convicted.

Mr. Tatham, originally trained as satellite photo specialist, had
spent several years in Afghanistan, working first for the UN Office
of Drugs and Crime, more recently for a contractor with the U.S.
State Department. He was returning to his home in Vancouver late
April to join his fiancee and plan their marriage.

Arrested as he tried to pass through Dubai, he remains in detention
in the emirate.

"He's been allowed some calls to us, and we have a family friend in
Dubai who has visited him," said Chuck Tatham, 39.

Canadian consular officials have also been in contact with Mr.
Tatham, delivering him reading materials, and helping him find a
lawyer. The UN and Afghan officials have also submitted letters of praise.

"Mr. Tatham is a highly respected poppy eradication expert, and this
is truly a situation of wrong place, wrong time," said one Canadian
official closely involved in the file, but who asked not to be
identified because of the sensitivity of commenting on an ongoing
court proceeding.

"They say his blood shows traces of narcotic. Well of course it did.
He was involved in poppy eradication and burning tonnes of it every day."

A request for comment from His Excellency Hassan Al-Suwaidi, UAE
ambassador to Canada, went unanswered yesterday.

A three-judge panel will decide Mr. Tatham's fate. One government
source said there is some evidence prosecution went ahead initially
because of communication problems due to language differences.