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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2008 
Imprisoned Canadian Woman Makes Desperate Plea, Legal Challenge
 Canwest News Service
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| | Brenda Martin has been imprisoned since Feb. 17, 2006, after being grabbed off the street by Mexican police and charged with money laundering and being part of a criminal conspiracy. (Glenn Bradbury/Canwest News Service) | | |
A Canadian woman imprisoned in Mexico for two years without trial will appeal the ruling of a judge who dismissed claims her legal rights have been violated throughout her detention.
The latest legal manoeuvre in the saga of Brenda Martin came the same day the 51-year-old made a desperate, public plea to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to help get her out of a Mexican prison.
A lawyer for Martin said she gave him the go-ahead Friday to proceed with the legal challenge.
"She doesn't want to give up," Toronto lawyer Guillermo Cruz Rico said.
"This is the smartest decision she could make right now."
Martin has been imprisoned since Feb. 17, 2006, after being grabbed off the street by Mexican police and charged with money laundering and being part of a criminal conspiracy.
The native of Trenton, Ont., has languished in a cramped jail cell - apparently locked up with convicted criminals, something her lawyers say is a breach of international law.
On Friday, through sobs she made a public plea for the prime minister to make an appeal on her behalf to the president of Mexico.
"I'd like to plead for my life," she said in an interview with CTV's Canada AM. "Please help me, prime minister."
Rico said his client is in bad shape.
"Brenda's situation is quite desperate. That's why she made that request," the Toronto lawyer said.
"I hope that at some point her request could be heard by the authorities. . . . The Mexican authorities are the only ones that are going to decide about Brenda's future."
Earlier this month, a Mexican court ruled against Martin's constitutional challenge, which claimed her rights have been violated because she was not provided an approved translator by police or the courts, in contravention of both Mexican and international law.
Rico said he's gone through the 800-page ruling and believes it's seriously flawed.
"This judge didn't judge any part of the argument that we provided," the lawyer said.
The appeal, which must be filed within 10 business days of last Monday's ruling, would be heard before a different court, which is overseen by three judges.
"We're going to deal with a different court," the lawyer said.
"With three judges, we're going to have a better chance."
It could easily be April before a ruling is made, he added.
The drawn-out case has apparently taken a tremendous emotional toll on Martin.
Martin was removed from her cell this month and placed on suicide watch.
She has repeatedly threatened to kill herself if she is not released, and her haunting, desperate cries for help have echoed through news reports for weeks.
There have been diplomatic efforts made on her behalf. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has sent a diplomatic note to Mexico, urging that Martin's rights be respected.
Earlier this week, she was visited at the prison by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, who has reportedly raised her case with several officials.
However, there continue to be claims of bias within the Mexican justice system.
Martin's childhood friend, Deb Tieleman said Robin Dubeau, Canada's consul general in Mexico City, has confirmed the judge in Martin's criminal case had already written his ruling - without hearing her defence.
And, in what Martin said was a blatant conflict of interest, Mexico's deputy attorney general reportedly warned her this week not to appeal the ruling on her constitutional challenge.
She said the official told her an appeal would needlessly delay the resolution of her criminal case for months.
She said the Mexican official derided her lawyer and berated her, calling her a liar at one point.
Brenda Martin worked for 10 months in 2001 as a chef in Puerto Vallarta for former Edmonton resident 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. |
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