Demand government help man sentenced to life for terrorism
It has been two weeks since an Ethiopian court sentenced Canadian businessman Bashir Makhtal to life in prison on terrorism charges. For two weeks, his family and supporters, vehement in their insistence that Makhtal is innocent, have waited to see if the Harper government will make a decisive move to bring the former Toronto resident home -- and for two weeks they say the government has asked them to be patient.
Patience is something they feel they've shown in abundance, given that the case began two-and-a-half years ago, when Makhtal was illegally deported from Kenya to his native Ethiopia and kept in a military prison with no access to lawyers or embassy officials for more than a year. So they have organized a demonstration in Ottawa for today to increase the pressure on the Harper government, and to demand aid to Ethiopia be suspended until Makhtal is safely home. To hammer home their point, they're bringing in supporters from Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton.
"We are told there are behind-the-scenes talks going on, but I'm concerned, and the community is concerned, about what is taking so long," says Fowsia Abdulkadir, an Ottawa member of the Free Bashir Makhtal Coalition.
"If he's convicted and he's a Canadian citizen, why haven't we had a high-level political intervention demanding that he be brought home? With this demonstration we are saying, 'Don't forget about Bashir.' "
Makhtal, 40, is ethnically Somali, but was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Canada as a teenager. He was arrested by Kenyan police in December 2006, as thousands crossed the border from Somalia to flee fighting between the invading Ethiopian army and Islamic forces. Makhtal testified in court that he was in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, to sell used clothes for his trading business.
Makhtal was illegally deported to Ethiopia, where he was held in secret for months and then denied access to a lawyer or to embassy officials for more than 16 months.
Makhtal was just one of almost 100 foreign nationals arrested at the same time, all of them accused of belonging to fundamentalist Islamic terror organizations. All but Makhtal and one other man have since been repatriated by their governments -- some with apologies from officials for their ordeal -- and no charges were filed against them in Ethiopia or at home.
Ethiopia eventually charged Makhtal with being a leader of the ONLF, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which Ethiopia considers a terrorist group but Canada does not. Makhtal denies even being part of the organization, and said he is being persecuted because he is the grandson of a founding member.
Canadian officials have made numerous interventions on Makhtal's behalf, in particular Transport Minister John Baird, who has held several meetings on the case with Somali-Canadian constituents in his Ottawa West-Nepean riding. He met members of the Free Bashir Makhtal Coalition soon after Makhtal's surprising conviction on Aug. 3.
"He was really upset and shared that with the community, and expressed how disappointed he was with the legal process in Ethiopia," said Abdulkadir. "He said, 'We're going to do something, we're working on this, wait.' "
Makhtal's strongest champion, his cousin, Said Maktal, says that at every stage of the case, politicians have urged him to wait for the outcome of court proceedings.
"Now he has been convicted and he has been sentenced, it's done -- and they still want me to be patient, to wait for the appeals process," says Maktal, who spells his surname differently than his cousin, whom he considers his brother.
"My question is always, 'When is it going to end? When is it enough for the Canadian government?' "
Makhtal's Ethiopian lawyer plans to file an appeal within the next few days, but supporters aren't optimistic. They are pressing ahead with the lawsuit Makhtal's Canadian lawyer filed against the government earlier this year, asking that the more than $82 million in aid sent to Ethiopia annually be suspended because Ethiopia is violating the rights of Canadian citizens.
"We'd like the government to take that step without us having to go to court," says Lorne Waldman, Makhtal's lawyer. "Canada shouldn't be supporting a regime that has subjected a Canadian citizen to an unjust process and sentenced him to life in prison."
Reached Sunday, Baird spokesman Chris Day said, "We are working very hard on Bashir's case and when we have something to report, we will."
"John Baird told me we are all Canadians," says Maktal. "We would like to see that be true, which would mean Bashir coming home ASAP."
