Bashir Makhtal

Who is Bashir Makhtal?

Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, is a Canadian citizen held in an Ethiopian prison, where he is accused of terrorism and faces the death penalty.

It is alleged that he is being held against international law, but he has been frequently visited by Canadian embassy officials in Ethiopia and received lawyer support as he appeared in court. The Canadian government's initial inaction on demanding his repatriation has galvanized some parts of the Somali community across Canada, and attracted the attention of Amnesty International. But some people inside Bashir Makhtal's own ethnic Somali communitysay that he was an active member of the ONLF, which Ethiopia says is an illegal and terrorist group.