Thursday, January 21, 2010
Bashir Makhtal |
The African Union summit, which is being held in Ethiopia later this month, is raising hope that senior Canadian politicians will get a chance to press the case of a former Torontonian who has been sentenced to life in prison in Addis Ababa.
Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian citizen, was convicted last summer of being a member of a separatist group, of engaging in an armed struggle against the Ethiopian government and of aiding the Islamic Courts Union - a religious alliance that seized control of Somalia before it was ousted by American and Ethiopian forces in 2006.
Makhtal was whisked away to Ethiopia exactly three years ago.
An ethnic Somali born in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, Makhtal was selling used clothes in Somalia when war broke out. He fled the capital and was arrested along the Kenyan border with dozens of other foreign nationals. He was taken to a jail in Nairobi. While there, he saw Canadian consul representatives twice.
Just before he was to appear in court, he and about 150 other people were secretly flown to Ethiopia on Jan. 21, 2007.
Makhtal’s supporters say he is innocent of any crimes and was arrested and sentenced because his grandfather was a co-founder of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.
Transportation Minister John Baird has taken an interest in the case, declaring Makhtal has been wrongfully convicted. He has said he had planned to go to Ethiopia to talk to government officials about the case.
Now it seems he will be going later this month - perhaps at the same time as Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon or a representative is in Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit, which begins Monday and continues until Feb. 2.
Baird said told the Star negotiations are underway for a series of meetings within two weeks. The timing for those meetings has yet to be confirmed by the Ethiopian government, he said. But as far as he’s concerned: “It’s still full steam ahead. I’ve got my visa. I’m ready to travel on short notice. My intent is to be there if I get the meetings by the end of the month.”
Cannon’s office would not confirm the foreign affairs minister was attending the summit. A spokesperson said “we will advise in due time of our participation at the summit and at every opportunity we raise the case of Mr. Makhtal.”
But Makhtal’s cousin Said, a Hamilton man who has been lobbying to have Makhtal freed, has been told both ministers will be heading to Addis Ababa late this month and will meet officials to press for Bashir’s freedom.
“I’m not in power to go there and bring (my cousin) back to Canada,” said Said Maktal, who spells his name differently from his cousin. “The only people who can do that is the government of Canada. I have to be uplifted by the news.”
But that doesn’t take away the strain of the past three years for Maktal.
“When he was rendered back to Ethiopia to me it is really sad that my government just watched and let it happen. It’s an awful action against my cousin - a Canadian citizen who hadn’t done anything wrong and who was travelling legally from one country to another. He was abducted and his freedom taken away.”
Amnesty International Canada has also spoken out on behalf of Makhtal. “Three years is a dismal and disheartening anniversary to mark in this case because what that really is is three years of human rights violations,” said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
“The last six months have been very telling. No way was his case dealt with fairly. You can’t even come close to saying he had a fair trial or appeal. It’s of vital importance that the Canadian government take the case up in a very serious and senior way.”
Adds Lorne Waldman, Makhtal’s Canadian lawyer: “The government of Canada has acknowledged Bashir has been wrongfully convicted. Our government has an obligation to protect Canadians. We’re firmly convinced that given the relationship we have with Ethiopia that if we state in clear enough terms that the Bashir case is a high priority for our government and we want Ethiopia to release him or expel him as a token of good faith then it can happen.
“I don’t think the government of Ethiopia wants to risk creating a serious irritant in their relationship between our two countries over one person - even if he is the grandson of the founder of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.”