A Vancouver anti-narcotics worker who was sentenced in Dubai to four years in prison on drug charges has been pardoned.
Bert Tatham's family is hoping to have him home for Christmas.
Bert Tatham, 35, is one of dozens of prisoners pardoned in the United Arab Emirates as part of an amnesty.
Tatham's mother, Louise, confirmed he would be released, but would not comment further.
On Freebert.ca — a website dedicated to freeing Tatham and lobbying the Canadian government on his behalf — a note posted Monday also confirmed his release.
"We are working to determine how fast we can get him out of there.… We're hoping to have him around for Christmas!" the post read.
The 35-year-old man worked in Afghanistan advising farmers on how to give up growing opium poppy crops, as part of the U.S. State Department's Afghan poppy elimination program.
On April 23, Tatham was arrested during a layover at Dubai International Airport on his way back to Vancouver, after being found with less than 0.6 of a gram of hashish and two poppy bulbs.
He was sentenced in June to the full sentence of four years in prison for drug possession and smuggling.
During his trial in Dubai, Tatham's lawyer said traces of hashish found in his urine were inhaled by Tatham as second-hand smoke.
The poppy bulbs in Tatham's possession were for "experiments and education," his lawyer said. His mother, who lives in Duntroon, Ont., has said her son used the bulbs as a "prop" for speaking engagements and also kept them as souvenirs.
With files from the Canadian PressRelated
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