Pothead
12-20-2007, 09:17 AM
December 20, 2007
TORONTO -- The United Arab Emirates, with its artificial resort islands, indoor ski slopes and the world's first Armani luxury hotel, is considered by many to be the Switzerland of the Middle East.
But its harsh laws and zero-tolerance policy on all illicit drugs has ensnared many foreigners, including Bert Tatham of Vancouver.
The 36-year-old former UN worker has blamed his own negligence for his April arrest at Dubai International Airport, where he was found with two poppy bulbs and a small quantity of hashish.
Despite his efforts to explain that the poppy bulbs were old and would be used only for educational purposes and that the hashish - 0.06 grams - was residue from handling it daily in Afghanistan as an anti-narcotics officer, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
Mr. Tatham and two other Canadians, whose names have not been released, were among 377 inmates pardoned on Monday by Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to mark the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.
John Thompson of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think tank, says it's common for Arab countries to make an example in such cases in order to avoid being perceived as tolerant.
"The United Arab Emirates are still an Arab country, and no matter how hard they try to present a different face to the world, they still reflexibly fall back on Arab culture," Mr. Thompson said.
"And part of the condition of Arab culture ... is that right versus wrong, or guilt versus innocence, doesn't matter as much as honour versus shame."
The emirates, a country about the size of New Brunswick, have often been criticized as a hub of illegal activities, including smuggling of drugs and prostitutes, and Mr. Thompson says Mr. Tatham may have fallen victim to the country's eagerness to prove its critics wrong.
"If the country feels ashamed they've been caught out as being permissive about smuggling, they will sometimes try and get their honour back by being overly strict in other cases, especially if it's a case that would attract a lot of western attention," Mr. Thompson said.
Earlier this year, two Britons were arrested in Dubai and were sentenced to four years each for possessing tiny amounts of soft drugs for personal use.
According to local media reports, one of them was arrested when authorities found 0.11 grams of hashish in his bag.
The other one was arrested after arriving from Afghanistan and found with 1.18 grams of hashish.
The most recent case is that of a British DJ who was arrested at Dubai airport on Nov. 23, hours before he was due to play a sold-out show at a local club. A small amount of cannabis was reported to have been found in his record collection.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa has warned Canadians about the UAE's tough laws.
A travel advisory posted on the department's website warns that in the UAE "criminal penalties for possession, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs, as well as poppy seeds, are strict and include the death penalty." The advisory also warns that the presence of drugs in the body is also counted as possession.
Mr. Tatham admitted to reporters upon arrival in Toronto on Tuesday night that he should have known better.
"I would just say that it was originally my negligence that got me into that situation, so I should apologize to my parents for all the worry and my girlfriend and my family for that," he said.
The reaction of bloggers and Internet users to his story was mixed yesterday, with some blasting the Arab country's tough laws and some blaming the Vancouver man for the incident.
"This guy should be serving the remainder of his sentence in a Canadian prison, not wandering around a free man," a reader by the username PJ commented on Yahoo.
"I'm embarrassed as a Canadian. Not at Bert's possible drug use, but at his complete stupidity," Joyce Smith from Vancouver commented on The Globe and Mail's website.
Others offered support and compassion to Mr. Tatham and his family.
"Welcome home ... the emirates still live in the dark ages when it comes to how they treat anyone not of the ruling class, especially in their jails," read one comment.
Mr. Tatham's mother said yesterday she hopes her son will come out of the experience "unscathed."
"We're just hoping that he will come out of this unscathed and be able to get back on with his life," Louise Tatham said in an interview with The Canadian Press from the family's home in Duntroon, Ont.
"The whole family is together again ... and we're going to have a great Christmas," she said.
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i wont be going to Dubai! get sent to jail for 10th of a gram of hash!:eek: and the chance of a death penalty:eek::eek::eek: no thanks!
peace
TORONTO -- The United Arab Emirates, with its artificial resort islands, indoor ski slopes and the world's first Armani luxury hotel, is considered by many to be the Switzerland of the Middle East.
But its harsh laws and zero-tolerance policy on all illicit drugs has ensnared many foreigners, including Bert Tatham of Vancouver.
The 36-year-old former UN worker has blamed his own negligence for his April arrest at Dubai International Airport, where he was found with two poppy bulbs and a small quantity of hashish.
Despite his efforts to explain that the poppy bulbs were old and would be used only for educational purposes and that the hashish - 0.06 grams - was residue from handling it daily in Afghanistan as an anti-narcotics officer, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
Mr. Tatham and two other Canadians, whose names have not been released, were among 377 inmates pardoned on Monday by Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to mark the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.
John Thompson of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think tank, says it's common for Arab countries to make an example in such cases in order to avoid being perceived as tolerant.
"The United Arab Emirates are still an Arab country, and no matter how hard they try to present a different face to the world, they still reflexibly fall back on Arab culture," Mr. Thompson said.
"And part of the condition of Arab culture ... is that right versus wrong, or guilt versus innocence, doesn't matter as much as honour versus shame."
The emirates, a country about the size of New Brunswick, have often been criticized as a hub of illegal activities, including smuggling of drugs and prostitutes, and Mr. Thompson says Mr. Tatham may have fallen victim to the country's eagerness to prove its critics wrong.
"If the country feels ashamed they've been caught out as being permissive about smuggling, they will sometimes try and get their honour back by being overly strict in other cases, especially if it's a case that would attract a lot of western attention," Mr. Thompson said.
Earlier this year, two Britons were arrested in Dubai and were sentenced to four years each for possessing tiny amounts of soft drugs for personal use.
According to local media reports, one of them was arrested when authorities found 0.11 grams of hashish in his bag.
The other one was arrested after arriving from Afghanistan and found with 1.18 grams of hashish.
The most recent case is that of a British DJ who was arrested at Dubai airport on Nov. 23, hours before he was due to play a sold-out show at a local club. A small amount of cannabis was reported to have been found in his record collection.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa has warned Canadians about the UAE's tough laws.
A travel advisory posted on the department's website warns that in the UAE "criminal penalties for possession, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs, as well as poppy seeds, are strict and include the death penalty." The advisory also warns that the presence of drugs in the body is also counted as possession.
Mr. Tatham admitted to reporters upon arrival in Toronto on Tuesday night that he should have known better.
"I would just say that it was originally my negligence that got me into that situation, so I should apologize to my parents for all the worry and my girlfriend and my family for that," he said.
The reaction of bloggers and Internet users to his story was mixed yesterday, with some blasting the Arab country's tough laws and some blaming the Vancouver man for the incident.
"This guy should be serving the remainder of his sentence in a Canadian prison, not wandering around a free man," a reader by the username PJ commented on Yahoo.
"I'm embarrassed as a Canadian. Not at Bert's possible drug use, but at his complete stupidity," Joyce Smith from Vancouver commented on The Globe and Mail's website.
Others offered support and compassion to Mr. Tatham and his family.
"Welcome home ... the emirates still live in the dark ages when it comes to how they treat anyone not of the ruling class, especially in their jails," read one comment.
Mr. Tatham's mother said yesterday she hopes her son will come out of the experience "unscathed."
"We're just hoping that he will come out of this unscathed and be able to get back on with his life," Louise Tatham said in an interview with The Canadian Press from the family's home in Duntroon, Ont.
"The whole family is together again ... and we're going to have a great Christmas," she said.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
i wont be going to Dubai! get sent to jail for 10th of a gram of hash!:eek: and the chance of a death penalty:eek::eek::eek: no thanks!
peace