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إدارة الموقع

Lebanese authorities freed Canadian Exporter of Rotten Potatoes to Algeria

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Lebanese authorities freed Canadian Exporter of Rotten Potatoes to Algeria

A Canadian farmer, Henk Tepper has returned home after being released from a Lebanese jail where he had been held for a year on charges of exporting rotten potatoes to Algeria.

 

Tepper was picked up in Lebanon last year on an international warrant issued by Algeria over a shipment of Rorren potatoes.

 

A source close to Tepper told The Canadian Press an Interpol red notice issued by Algeria remains in effect. The notice says he could face up to five years in prison if convicted of the allegations.

Tepper has been in a legal limbo because he was being held on the Interpol notice by the Lebanese government, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Algeria.

Algeria also alleges that Tepper forged documents related to the export of potatoes from Quebec and Prince Edward Island. Tepper’s lawyers have denied all of the allegations, saying the potatoes were inspected in Canada before shipment and met Algerian standards.

 

Henk Tepper, from Drummond, N.B., landed at Ottawa International Airport on Saturday afternoon on a flight from Frankfurt and was reunited with family members, including his wife, elderly parents and two daughters.

In a statement issued Saturday morning by Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, the federal government said it had been working behind the scenes to get Tepper released.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am pleased that Canadian consular officials have helped secure the release of Mr. Henk Tepper,” she said. “Our government has been quietly and persistently working through diplomatic channels to resolve his situation.

“Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon and consular officials displayed an unwavering commitment to assist Mr. Tepper. Canada is also appreciative of the responsiveness of our partners in Lebanon,” Ablonczy said.

RCMP investigated the case against Tepper and closed it for lack of evidence, but provided Interpol Algiers with information about Tepper, including financial details about his farming business along with other personal information about his wife, their house and assets.

At the time, the RCMP said it was standard procedure to share such information with other Interpol countries.

But Tepper’s lawyers believe it was that information that led to the Interpol warrant and his subsequent arrest in Lebanon where he was travelling on business.

Meanwhile, Tepper’s business, Tobique Farms, has been under creditor protection since June — about $11 million is owed to various creditors.

The 1,214-hectare potato farming operation is one of the province’s largest potato producers.


 

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