Family says Canadian faces death in Ethiopia

Paul Morse
The Hamilton Spectator

(Jun 7, 2008) The Hamilton-based family of a Canadian man imprisoned in Ethiopia says the federal government must intervene because Bashir Makhtal faces the death penalty.

"I am really scared, confused and shocked," said cousin Said Makhtal, of Hamilton, yesterday. "In Ethiopia, they don't follow international law."

Ethiopian officials yesterday confirmed Makhtal is on trial on terrorism charges, but did not say if he could be sentenced to death.

Makhtal, a former Toronto resident, was arrested on the Kenyan border in December 2006 while fleeing the civil war in Somalia. He was secretly flown to Ethiopia and imprisoned. For four months, Canadian officials did not even know where he was, and consular officials have not been allowed to meet with him.

Yesterday, Ethiopian embassy officials in Ottawa said Makhtal, a self-described used-clothing business man who returned to Africa in 2001, is currently before the court on state terrorism charges in the country's capital, Addis Ababa.

"The trial is ongoing," said Abdurahim Ali of the Ethiopian Embassy. "He appeared twice before the courts, so he is waiting for his judgment."

Ali said the trial is closed to the public because it involves national security. "It is a sovereignty case, with a terrorist organization, so we have to take a lot of care handling this."

Ottawa continues to press the Ethiopian government to allow Canadian consular officials to see Makhtal, Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday.

"We've been continuing to press senior Ethiopian authorities on issues of consular access, due process and respect for Mr. Makhtal's rights," said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shaun Tinkler.

Canada registered its concerns in March when foreign affairs parliamentary secretary MP Deepak Obhrai met with Ethiopia's secretary of state, he said, and continues to demand that Makhtal be allowed to retain a lawyer.

"Through an independent intermediary, we've been able to verify Mr. Makhtal's well-being," Tinkler said. He would not reveal who the intermediary was.

The Ethiopian government claims Makhtal is a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist group of ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden region in eastern Ethiopia that was founded by Makhtal's grandfather.

Ethiopia has designated the ONLF a terrorist organization, but it is not on Canadian or American terrorist group watch lists.

The Ethiopian Embassy spokesperson said he did not know a conviction meant Makhtal could be put to death.

Canada's handling of the case is drawing criticism from MP Paul Dewar, the NDP's foreign affairs critic. He said Ottawa has done little other than deliver a letter written by Secretary of State Helena Guergis to the Ethiopian government demanding consular access.

"This is essentially abandoning a Canadian citizen, because it was an illegal rendition from Kenya to Ethiopia and he's been there for a year and five months," Dewar said.

pmorse@thespec.com

905-526-3434

 

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