After 10 months in a northern Indian jail, Saul Itzhayek, a Montreal businessman, returned home last Friday. He was released from the Motihari prison in the Bihar state on Wednesday.
"It feels incredible to be home," Itzhayek said after arriving at Trudeau International Airport. "I'm very happy to see my family; it's the only thing I wanted to do."
Concerns about Itzhayek's safety grew last week following a pair of bombings and a round of gunfire that killed another inmate at the Motihari.
"After the bombing in the jail, which really put his life in some danger, we let it be known that we consider the Indian government responsible for his life, and we consider those who put him in jail to be responsible for his life," said Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem in Côte St. Luc, a member of an interfaith group of Montreal religious leaders that had been campaigning for Itzhayek's release. "That sort of a message made a profound impact and the appeals court realized that they had to let him go."
His case had been raised with Indian officials by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Helena Guergis.
"Canada and India have a strong, long-standing relationship with a history of mutual values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law," Minister Bernier said in a statement following Tuesday's ruling.
Irwin Cotler, Member of Parliament for Itzhayek's Montreal riding and a professor of law at McGill, had also taken up the case and had campaigned for his release on humanitarian grounds.
"We are pleased that justice has prevailed in India, and that Mr. Itzahayek is free to return to Canada," he said.
Itzhayek also had widespread support at the grassroots level, especially from media and spiritual leaders from various denominations.
"If a group of people band together and they are determined to speak out against an injustice they can have a profound impact, and you cannot trivialize that," Steinmetz said.
2008 Woodie Awards
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