Is it because of Canada’s bilateral trade deal with Bahrain or is it that Harper doesn’t want to ‘upset an important US ally in the Persian Gulf’? Those are reasons suggested by GlobalResearch for the silence of our government over the capture and torture of Naser Al Raas, an Ottawa resident who was visited Bahrain during the recent uprisings.
But when the former Microsoft IT specialist went to exit the country on 20 March, he was stopped while boarding his flight by ministry of interior officers. Although Al Raas was travelling on a Canadian passport, he was hauled into a room at Bahrain’s international airport and detained for several hours during which time he was hooded, interrogated and physically assaulted. That was just the beginning of his nightmare.
He was then taken by his captors to the infamous Al Qala – the ministry of interior headquarters in the capital, Manama, and incarcerated for four weeks without any criminal charges being made. During his illegal detention, Al Raas was severely tortured.
The Canadian suffers from a rare lung and heart condition – pulmonary embolism. He has previously undergone two open-heart operations at the Ottawa Heart Institute and he requires constant medication. Around the time of arrest, his supply of medication, which he had brought from Canada, ran out. He has been without treatment for nearly four months now.
I think it could just be a case of Harper being Harper. Who cares about a guy with a funny name (could be Muslim)? Out of sight, out of mind. The media doesn’t care. And that’s fine by Stephen Harper.
Cross posted at Let Freedom Rain.