COURT CONFIRMS EX-UN ANTI-DRUG OFFICER'S JAIL TERM

Dubai: A Dubai court has issued an irrevocable four-year jail term against a
former international adviser with the Poppy Elimination Programme in
Afghanistan for possessing 0.6 grammes of hashish for personal use.

The Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Dubai, found the
Canadian national, Herbert William Tatham, guilty of smuggling and
possessing hashish and two poppy seeds for personal use besides
consuming hashish, as charged by the Public Prosecution.

The Cassation Court confirmed the appeals and initial verdicts - four
years in jail. He will be deported after serving his term.

Afghan campaign

Tatham who formerly served as a consultant with the UN's Office on
Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) denied the charges and pleaded innocent.

His lawyer told the court: "My client was an anti-narcotics officer.
During his one-hour transit visit from Kandahar where he was on an
anti-narcotics campaign, he was caught at Dubai International Airport
carrying the poppy seeds, which he was taking to Canada for
experiments."

The defence lawyer said as part of the campaign, the accused collected
tonnes of drugs a day and burnt them. "His trousers must have
mistakenly picked up the tiny quantity of hashish," said the lawyer.

The lawyer said his client was "illegally questioned in the absence of
a legal translator".

"It was natural that he tested positive for hashish which appeared in
his urine test because of the effects of passive smoking as he burnt
about 10 tonnes of the narcotic a day," argued the lawyer.

The lawyer handed the court a commendation letter issued by the
Canadian Secretary of State for Tatham's dedication and service to the
Poppy Elimination Programme in Kandahar and other activities.