Lawyer demands answers about Canadian detained in Ethiopia without charge May 21, 2007 04:30 AM
Debra Black Staff Reporter A leading Canadian human rights and immigration lawyer wants Ottawa to clarify what Ethiopia has done with Bashir Makhtal and explain why the former Toronto resident hasn't been given consular access.
Lorne Waldman says the African country's government is either lying to the Canadian government or lying to an Ethiopian lawyer hired to represent Makhtal.
Waldman's comments are the latest twist in a protracted story that began in late January when the Canadian citizen was detained without charge.
Initially, the Ethiopian government denied it was holding Makhtal, believed to be 40 although his birth is not documented in the village where he was born. Later, Ethiopia acknowledged his detention.
Now, officials at the Central Investigation Bureau in Addis Ababa are telling another story.
On Friday, Mekuria Tafassa, an Ethiopian lawyer hired by the man's family in Canada, went to a prison known as Maikelawi to visit Makhtal, said Said Maktal, Makhtal's cousin, who lives in Hamilton.
The lawyer was told Makhtal wasn't there.
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