The friends and family of Philip Halliday hope the third time is lucky.
Halliday has been in jail in Spain for almost 18 months without a trail date.
A group in Digby is starting their third correspondence blitz to at least have him brought home to Canada.
“We are asking people to email, phone, fax or send letters to the minister of foreign affairs, the prime minister, our MP Greg Kerr and to the Canadian ambassador to Spain,” says Teressa Faessler who runs a Facebook page dedicated to helping Halliday. “Ask them to please give us some help, to stand up for Philip’s human rights.”
Faessler says Halliday sailed to Spain in December 2009 for what he thought was the simple delivery of an empty vessel. Spanish authorities boarded the ‘Destiny Empress’ on Dec. 21, 2009 and discovered 1.5 tonnes of cocaine on the ship. They arrested the crew of the vessel including Halliday. And then they charged Halliday with drug trafficking in February 2010.
They have not yet set a trail date and Faessler says under Spanish law, he could be held for 48 months (four years) without a trial.
Faessler says Halliday had gall stones removed in March but now has a tumour on his kidney, andfull-blown liver disease. The doctors tell him he needs to have his gall bladder removed.
“I don’t know anyone in Canada who has to wait 17 months for gall bladder surgery,” says Faessler.
Faessler wanted to get a petition to Canada’s parliament but the House will be rising early next week. She will nonetheless be distributing petitions to local businesses in the Digby area and all across Canada. There is also an electronic version on the Internet at www.petitiononline.com/halliday/petition.html .
The petition in part reads:
For over 17 months he has remained behind bars with no trial date, innocent and suffering from gall bladder attacks since his arrest in December 2009. He is gravely ill and not receiving adequate medical attention.
When our Government does not defend good, honest Canadians such as Philip, it diminishes his Canadian citizenship. When his Canadian citizenship is diminished, it is diminished for ALL Canadians.
We are petitioning you today to speak to your counterparts in Spain and intervene on Philip’s behalf to expedite either a trial or his immediate release.
The Facebook page “Friends & Family of Philip Halliday” also contains more information and ways to help Philip.
“The politicians tell us we can’t interfere with a sovereign state’s judicial system,” says Faessler. “But we can interfere in Libya and in Afghanistan. But we can’t help an innocent man.”
what happened to being inocent until proven guilty?