Montreal man back home after 10-month Indian jail stay over expired visa
MONTREAL - Finally free with his feet firmly planted on Canadian soil, Saul Itzhayek said it hadn't sunk in that he was finally home.
"I'm not grounded yet, I need to go home for a while, relax and take a shower," a dog-tired Itzhayek said after landing Friday afternoon at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
He spent much of the last ten months as the only foreign inmate at the dangerous, crowded Motihari prison in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar.
The Montreal businessman was arrested by Indian police in May 2007 for an alleged visa violation after he'd crossed into India from Nepal.
An Indian court upheld Itzhayek's conviction on Tuesday but reduced his sentence to the time he had already served.
Itzhayek, 42, said he was looking forward to reconnecting with his family after meeting them privately at the airport.
He also said he will continue to work to clear his name in India.
"It feels incredible to be home," Itzhayek said following the 80-hour journey that began with his release earlier in the week.
"I want to thank God for everything, for getting me out.
"I thank you all from the bottom of my heart."
Itzhayek spoke briefly and thanked the large contingent in Montreal that had thrown their support behind him, including his family, an interfaith group and local media.
Pressure also came from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Liberals such as former justice minister Irwin Cotler.
His case was also taken up pro bono by the law firm of India's former solicitor general, Harish Salve.
Salve and a lawyer from his firm are helping Itzhayek to clear his name in India.
Itzhayek was in Nepal on business when he was arrested in May.
He claims he sent his driver into India to pick up some money that was being wired to him. Police stopped the driver at the border and seized documents that included Itzhayek's passport and visa.
Itzhayek filed sworn statements that say Indian police offered him safe passage back into India to collect his documents but instead arrested him for entering the country illegally.
Itzhayek has claimed Indian police tricked him into crossing the border when he was arrested. The officers demanded bribes in exchange for his freedom, he said.
Aparajita Singh, one of Itzhayek's lawyers, said the appeal was filed on the basis the Montreal man had been framed by the local police.
Singh told The Canadian Press in an e-mail interview that Itzhayek didn't have proper representation during his trial.
"The trial was conducted very shoddily and the defence had not (shown) any evidence," Singh said.
Itzhayek, who is married with two grown children, said he lost more than 60 pounds in the prison from drinking unsanitary water and living in quarters crawling with rats and scorpions.
Itzhayek said he narrowly avoided injury in a pair of explosions that killed a local gangster at the prison on March 15.
Itzhayek said his time in prison was a harrowing experience.
"Difficult, very hard, you can't compare it to here, it's a completely different life," Itzhayek said.
"You never know when you're gonna leave, you never know what's going to happen to you when you walk around."
His sister, Sylvia, says a private family reunion will be held over the weekend to allow her brother to decompress and spend time with his family.
"My mind's not here yet. I need a couple of days to get my head together," Itzhayek said.
"I'm very happy to see my family, it is the only thing I wanted to do, to sit down with them and talk to them."
Itzhayek had been travelling for nearly 80 hours, beginning with a nine-hour drive through the Himalayas to Kathmandu from a Nepalese border town before hopping a series of flights taking him from Nepal to Qatar through Europe and finally Montreal.
Itzhayek has said the hardest part of his incarceration was the mental anguish and a feeling of hopelessness in his dealings with Indian police.
But Itzhayek said he always had hope that he'd find his way home.
"I was crying for about 10 or 15 minutes when I heard I was released," Itzhayek said of the moment CTV reporter Paul Workman told him he had been freed.
Workman also provided Itzhayek with a pair of shoes for the long trek home.
Itzhayek didn't delve into any details about his plight in India, preferring to stay mum until his legal issues are ironed out.
"I know that you have a lot of questions you want answered, but you have to give me some time," Itzhayek said.
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