Bashir Makhtal

[jamaal7777]

May ALLAH swt help him safe back home aamiin.

[Kamaavi]

Ministers attending summit expected to press for release of Canadian

 

Thursday, 21 January 2010 12:10

 

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 ****** 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 ****** 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 ****** National Liberation Front.”

 

 

Source..

[Abdulladiif Al-Fiqih]

^^ I was reading this few days ago and was saw in my mind people flocking to Canada from afar places when he comes home.....I could see it happening and I always believed he will be released InchAllah!

 

 

What can my enemies possibly do to me? My paradise is in my heart; wherever I go it goes with me, insepa­rable from me. For me, prison is a place of (religious) retreat; ex­ecution is my opportunity for martyrdom; and exile from my town is but a chance to travel.”

There is a lecture out there on youtube by Awlaki about this quote..... and the rewards awaits him if they succeed killing him as they seek his death. Very moving walah!

[Cawaale]

Originally posted by Abdiladiif:

^^ I was reading this few days ago and was saw in my mind people flocking to Canada from afar places when he comes home.....I could see it happening and I always believed he will be released InchAllah!

Insha-Allah

[Kamaavi]

Canada’s Transport Minister hopes to put Makhtal on road to freedom from Ethiopian prison,John Baird meets with Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister to ask for Makhtal deportation

 

 

(The Star)Wheels are now in motion to bring Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian citizen sentenced to life imprisonment in Ethiopia, back to Canada.

 

A political process has now begun to bring Makhtal, a former Torontonian, home, said John Baird, Canada’s Minister of Transport who met with the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister His Excellency Seyoum Mesfin on Wednesday.

 

In an hour-long exchange which took place in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa both men agreed that the controversial Makhtal case had become “an irritant” for both countries and now was the time for the political process to take over and look at ways to bring Makhtal home, Baird said.

 

The two men discussed a number of options, including deportation and a prisoner exchange, the transport minister said. He said he made a formal request three times during the meeting that Makhtal be deported or expelled. “I made it clear on behalf of the government and Bashir that he would not return to the Ethiopia and … the region,” Baird told the Star in an interview Thursday morning.

 

“I indicated Canada and Ethiopia had good relations, but it (the case) had become an irritant on both sides.” Both men agreed that both sides should now deal with it, Baird said.

 

Mesfin also suggested a proposal on how Makhtal could be returned to Canada, Baird said.

 

That proposal will now be considered by the Canadian government, Baird said. “We will consult with them on the issue,” Baird said. “Our preference is deportation.”

 

Baird said those consultations will go on for the next 10 days to two weeks before any other steps are taken.

 

Prior to meeting with the minister Baird also met with Makhtal in Ethiopia’s Kaiti Prison. Initially prison officials weren’t going to let them meet, but Mesfin intervened and the meeting took place.

 

“I spent a half hour with him. I was a bit taken a back when he walked in the room. I have been dealing with this guy’s case for 18 months and never met him. He seemed healthy and in good spirits and had gained a bit of weight. He said he was being treated well. I updated him on our efforts … He’s an articulate and intelligent guy. He was very well briefed on what was going on in Canada on his behalf.”

 

Baird praised the efforts of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs – both in Canada and in Addis Ababa — in its handling of the case. And he told the Star that Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was instrumental in getting the meeting between Baird and Mesfin set up.

 

Lorne Waldman, Makhtal’s Canadian lawyer, was thrilled with the news from the meeting. “I’m very pleased and grateful for the minister’s efforts and taking up Bashir’s case personally. The news is extremely encouraging.” But he cautioned: “I’ve been through this on a number of occasions and until Bashir is back in Canada we won’t stop our efforts … we’ll consult with Canadian officials about the next steps. It’s extremely important not to relinquish pressure at this point.”

 

Makhtal, an ethnic Somali from the O'gaden region of Ethiopia, was arrested on the Kenya-Somalia border in December, 2006 and then was rendered to Ethiopia in shackles on a top secret flight in January, 2007. He was held incommunicado for about 18 months before he was allowed to see either a lawyer or Canadian consular officials.

 

He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for being a member of a separatist group, engaging in an armed struggle against the government, and of aiding and abetting the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a religious alliance that seized control of Somalia before it was ousted by U.S. and Ethiopian forces in 2006.

 

Family and supporters have always maintained his innocence, saying the Ethiopian government was only interested in him because he was the grandson of one of the co-founders of the O'gaden National Liberation Front, a separatist group fighting for independence in the oil-rich area of Ethiopia.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

ilahay ha u ziyaadiyo miskinkaas meesha ku xidhan si ban family u nahay ninkaas.