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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2008 
Paul Martin Meets with Imprisoned Canadian in Mexico
 Charles Rusnell - edmontonjournal.com
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| | Recent photo of Brenda Martin inside the Puente Grande Women's Prison in Guadalajara, Mexico. | | |
Former prime minister Paul Martin is meeting with Canadian Brenda Martin in the Mexican jail in which she has been imprisoned without trial for more than two years.
Martin flew to Guadalajara this morning from Mexico City where he was attending meetings aimed at expanding the G8 to include a dozen more countries, including Mexico. The former prime minister, who is not related to Brenda Martin, has already met with several high-ranking Mexican government officials in an attempt to gain her release from the Puente Grande Women's Prison where she has been imprisoned since Feb. 17, 2006.
The former prime minister's visit with Martin was arranged with the assistance of the Canadian embassy in Mexico City.
Brenda Martin's childhood friend, Deb Tieleman of Waterloo, Ont., said she is thrilled that the former prime minister has come to her friend's assistance.
"We need all the help we can to get Brenda home," Tieleman said.
On Monday, a Mexican court ruled against a constitutional challenge by Martin's lawyers who claimed her legal rights had been violated.
Her lawyer, Guillermo Cruz Rico of Toronto, said his office in Mexico City received the judge's ruling Tuesday. It is 800 pages long and will take days to wade through before a decision can be made on an appeal.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier sent a diplomatic note to Mexico on Tuesday raising concerns about Brenda Martin's rights. In the note, Bernier pressed the Mexican government to provide assurances that Brenda Martin's rights are being respected under Mexican and international law especially given her lengthy imprisonment without trial.
The diplomatic note was issued in response to a ruling by a Mexican court earlier this week that found Martin's legal rights had not been violated. Her lawyers had claimed she was not provided an approved translator by police or the courts, in contravention of both Mexican and international law.
Brenda Martin worked for 10 months in 2001 as a chef in Puerto Vallarta for former Edmontonian Alyn Waage. Mexican authorities accuse Martin of helping Waage defraud $60 million from 15,000 victims worldwide through an internet investment scam. Waage pleaded guilty in 2003 and is serving a 10-year sentence in a North Carolina prison. On Feb. 17, 2006, five years after Waage's arrest, Martin was grabbed off the street by Mexican federal police and charged with money laundering and being part of a criminal conspiracy. She has strongly denied any knowledge or involvement in the scheme and Waage has sworn an affidavit for Mexican authorities supporting Martin's contention.
crusnell(at)thejournal.canwest.com |
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