Ottawa will seek clemency in Makhtal case

The Conservative government says it will seek clemency for Bashir Makhtal if the Ethiopian government sentences him to death next week.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says Canada has asked Ethiopia that Makhtal not face the death penalty.

Makhtal is to be sentenced after being found guilty this week in Addis Ababa on terrorism-related charges.

Makhtal, born in Ethiopia, settled in Canada as a refugee and later moved to Kenya, where he opened a used-clothing business.

He was working in Somalia when Ethiopian troops invaded in late 2006 and fled back to Kenya, but he was detained along with several others at the Kenya-Somalia border.

He was charged with being a member of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front — an allegation he denies.