Federal Transport Minister John Baird - Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters
By Louisa Taylor, The Ottawa Citizen
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
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Bashir Makhtal
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OTTAWA — Federal Transport Minister John Baird is making a lightning trip to Ethiopia Wednesday to personally make the case for the release of Canadian businessman Bashir Makhtal.
Makhtal, 41, was sentenced to life in prison last year on terror charges. The former resident of Toronto has long maintained his innocence and has been supported by groups lobbying on his behalf in Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton.
Baird’s office confirmed that the MP for Ottawa West-Nepean expects to spend only 24 hours in the capital, Addis Ababa, meeting officials at the Canadian Embassy, visiting Makhtal in prison and meeting the Ethiopian foreign minister.
“This is the day I’ve been waiting for, all these three years,” said Said Maktal, Bashir Makhtal’s main advocate. The two are cousins, and they spell their name differently, but they are so close they call themselves brothers.
“I hope the government of Ethiopia co-operates with Minister Baird and the Government of Canada. I’m very hopeful that Minister Baird will bring my brother back to Canada.”
Makhtal was arrested in late 2006 crossing the border from Somalia to Kenya. A month later, he was shackled and illegally transferred by airplane to Ethiopia, where he was held incommunicado in a military prison, with no charges, no access to embassy officials and no access to his lawyer, for more than a year.
Baird took an interest in Makhtal’s case in late 2008, in response to pressure from constituents in his riding. Makhtal was finally charged in early 2009 and sentenced to life in prison following a trial Amnesty International criticized as falling far short of international legal standards.
Makhtal’s family believes he has been targeted because he is the grandson of one of the founders of an Ethiopian separatist movement.
Source: Ottawa Citizen