OTTAWA - After 18 months of fruitless effort, Canadian officials have succeeded in visiting a former Toronto man held under mysterious circumstances in an Ethiopian jail.
The Foreign Affairs Department says diplomats in the East African country saw imprisoned Canadian Bashir Makhtal last Friday.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Shaun Tinkler says Canada will continue to press Ethiopia to ensure regular consular access to Makhtal.
Lorne Waldman, Makhtal's lawyer, has long been worried by unofficial reports from Ethiopia that Makhtal has already appeared before a military court where he will face trial.
But Tinkler says the department has not been advised of any criminal charges.
Makhtal, a Canadian citizen born in Ethiopia, came to Canada as a refugee and later moved to Kenya, where he opened a used-clothing business.
He was on business in Somalia during an invasion by Ethiopian troops in late 2006 and was detained when he tried to flee back to Kenya.
