Nov 27, 2007 04:30 AM
Debra Black
Staff Reporter
A Canadian citizen who has been detained in Ethiopia for the past 10 months without being charged is suing the government there and its officials for "violations of international law, assault, battery, false arrest and false imprisonment."
The statement of claim, which was filed in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice late last week, names Warqine Gabayo, the head of the Ethiopian police, and Taadese Masareti, the head of the prison where Bashir Makhtal is being detained.
The suit claims that Ethiopia "is illegally holding" Makhtal and is "subjecting him to torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment." According to the statement of claim, Makhtal has been held "incommunicado" for more than nine months, and he has not been charged with any offence. Nor has he been brought before a court of law.
His rights to legal counsel and adequate access to the consular protection of Canada have also been denied, the suit says.
"He has been denied his fundamental rights under international, Ethiopian and Canadian law," according to the suit.
The suit adds Makhtal was also "subject to frequent interrogations during which he has been subjected to torture and cruel and inhumane treatment. He was also forced to videotape a false confession under the coercion of the Ethiopian authorities. The false confession was broadcast on the television in Ethiopia."
The suit also alleges that Makhtal's family, many of whom remain in Ethiopia, have been detained, arrested and subjected to torture and coercion to force them to implicate him.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit has been proven in a court of law.
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