A Mississauga man is facing life in prison in Dubai for travelling with more than 100 grams of cannabis products his wife says he was using to help cope with chronic pain related to Addison’s disease.
Maurice Kevin O’Rourke, 64, was arrested in July in the United Arab Emirates during a layover from Canada on his way to South Africa, after airport officials in Dubai found 50 grams of cannabis and 60 grams of CBD oil in his luggage.
The substances weren’t prescribed. But Pamela O’Rourke says her husband had no intention of breaking the law and is calling on officials in Dubai to have compassion for his situation.
“This is a 64-year-old man who made a mistake,” she told CBC Toronto. “To say that he’s going to have to spend the rest of his life in a foreign country by himself … and with his illness, a life sentence could be months or weeks.”
The family of a Mississauga man sentenced to life imprisonment in Dubai is fighting to bring him home. The 64-year-old was jailed after airport officials found cannabis in his bag while he was on a layover to South Africa. CBC’s Tyler Cheese has more.
O’Rourke has Addison’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that makes him susceptible to infections, his wife says.
Since he was detained, he’s undergone two surgeries for an infection, leaving him with an open wound, according to his wife. He was held in hospital for 40 days but has since been moved back to a detention centre with instructions to change his bandages twice a day.
His wife also says O’Rourke has not had access to his regular medication since being detained, leaving his family worried about his health.
CBC Toronto reached out to the U.A.E embassy in Ottawa for comment on O’Rourke’s situation on Friday afternoon, but hasn’t received a response as of midday Monday. This story will be updated if the embassy opts to comment.
U.A.E. has a zero-tolerance policy for many drugs
Canada warns travelers the U.A.E. has a zero-tolerance policy toward drugs. Official travel advice outlines that some medications — like codeine and psychiatric medications — that are available in Canada by prescription or over-the-counter are classified as controlled substances in the country.
It’s illegal to bring them into the country, even in small quantities, without prior permission from the U.A.E. Ministry of Health.
Travellers have been arrested in the U.A.E. for having residual cannabis in their bodies from well before entering the country, says Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, a group that helps “foreign victims of injustice in the United Arab Emirates.”
Stirling told CBC Toronto that travellers should be extra cautious as a result.
“With Canada’s liberal laws on cannabis use, it’s quite possible that citizens could be arrested for residual, legally smoked, legally consumed cannabis products on arrival in Dubai,” Stirling said.
But there is still hope for O’Rourke, she said.
“There is some leeway for Dubai to look at the issues in the case. Look at the human rights element of the case and the fact that he needs ongoing medical attention, which he simply won’t get in a Dubai prison,” Stirling said.
In similar cases, the products have been confiscated at the airport and travellers are fined, deported, or sometimes even allowed to stay in the country, she said.
But she also wants to see more diplomatic effort from the Canadian government to help get O’Rourke home.
In a statement issued to CBC News on Dec. 5, Global Affairs Canada wrote it’s, “aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in United Arab Emirates. Consular officials are in touch with local authorities and are providing consular assistance. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”
O’Rourke to appeal life sentence on Dec. 25
Detained in Dubai previously worked with the Canadian government to help bring André Gauthier home in 2021.
The Quebec man was detained in Dubai for six years after blowing the whistle to authorities in the U.A.E on irregular dealings in a gold-trading company, Gold AE. He was then arrested, charged and convicted with committing 73 counts in the fraud he uncovered.
“The Canadian government, after quite a bit of lobbying, eventually really stood up for him diplomatically and managed to get him home to Canada,” Stirling said, adding she hopes the same can be done for O’Rourke.
In the meantime, Pamela and the rest of O’Rourke’s family are left missing him and worrying for him, especially as the holidays approach.
“Our hearts are broken because he’s not going to be home for Christmas,” she said.
A hearing to appeal the life sentence is set for Christmas Day.
