Hundreds of protesters gathered in North Vancouver Saturday to demand the federal government intervene in the case of Pavel Kulisek, a Canadian who has been jailed in Mexico for three years without being convicted of a crime.
Kulisek travelled to Mexico with his family in 2007 for an extended vacation. He was arrested in March of the following year, the sole Canadian swept up in a drug sting operation.
His supporters in Canada say that Kulisek had befriended a man who, unbeknown to him, was a senior member of a drug cartel.
Kulisek is accused of being a member of the cartel. But the case has been riddled with problems, including allegations of corruption against a police officer and a prosecutor.
A Mexican consular representative said the three-year delay is justified under Mexico's constitution.
So North Vancouver residents like Lauren Ellis have been waging a campaign to raise awareness about Kulisek's case, including by organizing Saturday's rally.
"Canada's official position has been to show sympathy and concern, but to wait and allow the Mexican judicial system take its course," Ellis said in a statement.
"Immediate action is needed" to save him from the "unbearable" conditions of his imprisonment, she said.
Last month, on the third anniversary of his arrest, Kulisek tried to hang himself.
Dr. Ramona Penner, a family friend, recently visited him in prison and said Kusilek was displaying signs of mental illness relating to stress, and possible brain damage from his suicide attempt.
His wife, Jirina, is afraid he may attempt suicide again.
"I fear for his life, right? He really, he gave up," she told 麻豆影视. "So I need to get him out of there as soon as possible."
Kulisek was transferred from Punta Grande, a maximum security prison in Guadalajara, to a psychiatric prison in Mexico City following his suicide attempt.
His supporters say that while Canadian officials have been "supportive," they are "reluctant to intervene in another country's affairs."
According to Human Rights Watch, Mexico's justice system is beset by corruption, "inadequate training and resources," and excessive pretrial detentions.
"Over 40 percent of prisoners in Mexico have never been convicted of a crime," HRW wrote in a 2011 report. "Rather, they are held in pretrial detention, often waiting years for trial."
With files from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward
