OTTAWA — Transport Minister John Baird made a whirlwind visit to Addis Ababa on Wednesday in a bid to secure the release of Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian citizen who's spent three years languishing in Ethiopian jails.
The minister flew to the Ethiopian capital from Israel, where he'd been on other government business.
He was scheduled to meet with officials in the Canadian embassy and Ethiopia's foreign minister and planned to visit Makhtal in prison before jetting back to Israel late Wednesday night.
Baird's office, which had not been able to contact the minister during the day, was unable to say if any progress was made toward freeing Makhtal.
Makhtal, an ethnic Somali born in Ethiopia, came to Canada as a refugee in 1991 and became a Canadian citizen three years later.
He was in Somalia in December 2006 on business when Ethiopian troops invaded the country. He was arrested on terrorism charges as he tried to flee across the border to Kenya.
Makhtal was sentenced to life imprisonment last year following a questionable trial that was denounced by Amnesty International.
His family believe Makhtal is paying the price for the fact that his grandfather was one of the founders of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an Ethiopian separatist group.
Source: The Canadian Press
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