Former Toronto man being forced to say he's a member of a rebel group, family members charge

May 04, 2007
Debra Black
Staff Reporter

A former Toronto resident is being tortured in Ethiopia, his relatives say.

Bashir Makhtal has been detained in Ethiopia since late January.

He is among 41 prisoners from 17 countries that Ethiopia has admitted holding; 29 were ordered released by a military court.

Makhtal was among the dozen who were to remain in custody.

Makhtal's cousin, Said Maktal, told the Toronto Star that a reliable source in Ethiopia telephoned him Wednesday and said Bashir Makhtal "is being tortured and they're forcing him to speak on the television regarding the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

"They want him to say he is a member of that group and he's refusing because he's not."

Makhtal's grandfather was a founder of the nationalist group that is fighting for independence for ethnic Somalis in eastern Ethiopia.

Bashir Makhtal's family insists he is not a member.

Yesterday, Said Maktal said, a second source reported the torture allegation.

Further troubling are additional reports from the Ethiopian source that Bashir's brother Hassan and two of his children who still live in Jigjiga, Ethiopia, were also rounded up and tortured.

The reports of torture come on the heels of a written assurance from an official in Ottawa that the Ethiopian government has promised Ottawa that Makhtal, a Canadian citizen, "has been and will continue to be properly treated," his cousin said.


"If the reports are true, they have lied to our government," Maktal said.

"It's against humanity to torture someone in their custody and to force somebody to lie on national television."

Canada's Foreign Affairs Department didn't comment on the reports yesterday.

It previously confirmed Makhtal is in an Ethiopian prison and that it is lobbying for regular consular access.

Lawyer Lorne Waldman, hired by the family to help free Makhtal, urged Ottawa once again to demand consular access.

"It's extremely urgent they (Canadian officials) get access to Bashir as soon as possible so they can determine for themselves what his health is in light of these serious allegations," Waldman said yesterday.

"It doesn't make sense they haven't had consular access. He's a Canadian citizen and should be granted consular access under the Vienna Convention."

The reports of Makhtal's torture follow a raid last week on an oil refinery in eastern Ethiopia by gunmen.

They killed 74 Ethiopian and Chinese workers and took seven Chinese hostage; they were freed five days later.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack.

Makhtal left Ethiopia when he was 11 to attend school in Somalia.

He came to Canada as a refugee, before moving to Kenya in 2002.

There he married and started a business selling used clothing.

Makhtal was arrested in late December on the Kenya-Somalia border, held in Kenya and then deported to Somalia and on to Ethiopia in late January.

Said Maktal is worried that his cousin, who lived in Toronto's Riverdale neighbourhood for almost 11 years, will break under the torture.

"Eventually, if it is his life that is at stake, he will talk and say whatever they want him to say," he said.

"The international community should know what Ethiopia is doing ... Someone has to stand up and say `enough.' I'm hoping our government will do something about this. I want the international community to know they're not keeping their promise."



 

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