Justice for Bashir Makhtal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Justice for Bashir Makhtal

(Ottawa, Canada-June 17, 2008) Concerned Canadian citizens are holding a gathering in Ottawa about an urgent matter involving the violation of the rights of a Canadian citizen.  We are worried for the safety of Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian citizen who has been held illegally in Ethiopia without trail since January 2007. 

To give you some background information. On or about January 20, 2007, Mr. Bashir Makhtal of Toronto, Canada, was illegally detained in Kenya and rendered to Ethiopia and is now being held indefinitely without trial in that country.  Both the detention and the rendering were done without any court proceedings or due process. He is currently being held against his will and incommunicado in Ethiopia.  Mr. Makhtal urgently needs the intervention of our Canadian Government, which has so far, failed to protect the rights of this innocent citizen detained in a notorious detention centre where torture is known to occur.

Accordingly, we request that you honour us with your presence at this gathering of concerned Canadians of diverse ethnic backgrounds to be held on Wednesday June 18, 2008, in Ottawa at Sandy Hill Community Center, 250 Somerset Street, between 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM to raise awareness of the plight of Mr. Makhtal and the lack of appropriate action from our government.  This episode has tarred Canada’s reputation as a true defender of human rights as one of its own now languishes in a foreign jail without due process.

Please visit our website www.makhtal.org for additional information to help guide your understanding of this matter. 

Said A. Maktal at (905) 920-6352