Bashir Makhtal is a Canadian citizen who was detained in an Ethiopian prison for more than 11 years until his release in April, 2018. “Because I could not get help from the Canadian government at the time I needed it, I accepted death,” said Makthal, 49. Austen said that Freeland’s parliamentary secretary, Mississauga MP Omar Alghabra, visited Makhtal in Ethiopia and met with him again in Ottawa on Tuesday. He notified Canadian consular staff in Kenya, who visited him in his cell and wrote a letter on his behalf, he said. In 2009, after two years of imprisonment in Ethiopia, Makhtal was convicted of terrorism for alleged links to the group — charges that Makhtal and his family have always denied.

Source: thestar May 22, 2018 21:28 UTC