Two months in jail for codeine

2005-04-30 21:30

London - A British woman jailed for nearly two months in Dubai for having taken a prescribed painkiller, has been released on bail, her former husband said Saturday.

Tracy Wilkinson, 44, has been detained in the Gulf emirate - a popular tourist destination for Britons - since arriving on a visit last month.

She was initially detained for a passport concern, then asked to provide a urine sample, which showed she had taken codeine and temazepam, as prescribed by her doctor, while still in England.

Codeine is a banned substance in the United Arab Emirates, and it is an offence not only to possess the substance but to have it in the bloodstream, and punishable by a maximum jail sentence of four years.

Wilkinson's ex-husband, retired police officer Robin Wilkinson, told Britain's Press Association newswire that the mother of two was released on bail but ordered to appear in court again next Saturday.

"They have released her while further inquiries are made into the documents that have been placed before the court," he said, adding that authorities now "seem happy that the drugs were prescribed".

A British embassy official denied local reports this week that Wilkinson had been already been handed a four-year jail term.

Half a million Britons visit Dubai every year, and another 150 000 come to other emirates in the seven-strong United Arab Emirates.

About 100 000 Britons reside in the UAE, most of them in Dubai, according to the British embassy.

- AFP