January
13, 2008 Canadian
Traveler Languishing in Indian Jail By Gurmukh Singh
Toronto
As authorities here allowed an Indian who had entered the country
unlawfully stay back in cosy comfort of a gurudwara, an illegal
Canadian traveler is languishing in a Bihar jail.
While the Indian, Laibar Singh, has the support of the Indo-Canadian
community here, the jailed Canadian businessman Saul Itzhayek has no
such backing.
The Montreal businessman was reportedly arrested seven months ago
when he tried to enter India with an expired visa.
His family said he was in Nepal on a business trip when he had money
wired to him in India. The Canadian businessman had asked his
Nepalese driver to pick up the money from India.
Police detained the Nepalese driver with his passport, according to
the family. They also alleged Itzhayek was arrested when he refused
to pay a bribe to the police.
Though Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Junior Minister
Helena Guergis had raised the issue with the Indian delegation at
the Kampala Commonwealth Summit last year, the Indian government has
done nothing so far to free Itzhayek.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier again raised the
issue Saturday with his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, during
their talks in New Delhi.
"Minister Bernier also discussed the case of Saul Itzhayek, a
Canadian citizen incarcerated in India," said an official statement
released here.
But Sylvia Itzhayek, the sister of the jailed businessman man, said
she was not satisfied with it. She said the Canadian government was
not pressuring India enough to get her brother released.
Her brother had lost 70 pounds, she said. "He was in the hellhole of
the earth. He's having a very difficult time. I'm very worried about
him."
Sylvia alleged that her brother was jailed because he refused to
bribe the jail authorities.
Pressing the government for strong action in the case, she said, "I
want to hear action. I want to hear concrete information about
what's going to happen... I want to know when he's coming home."
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