Should the prime minister intervene on Henk Tepper's behalf?

Ella Tepper, left, and Harmein Dionne, right, are asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene on Henk Tepper's behalf. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)The wife of a New Brunswick man imprisoned in Lebanon has made a tearful plea for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene on his behalf.

Henk Tepper, 44, has been in jail in Beirut since March with no charges against him.

"The hardest thing is trying to be strong for your kids," Ella Tepper told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. "There is only one thing that would make them feel better, is to have their dad home for Christmas."

"It's time that the Canadian government brings Henk back home," added Harmein Dionne, Henk's sister.

Ella Tepper, Dionne and Liberal senators Mac Harb and Pierrette Ringuette all claim that Harper could help free Tepper from a Beirut prison by writing a letter of request to the Lebanese government.

Tepper was arrested on the Interpol warrant while on a trade mission trip sponsored by the Canadian government.

The New Brunswick farmer is accused of forging paperwork over a shipment of potatoes and exporting a rotten shipment to Algeria in 2007. Tepper says he is innocent and his lawyers argue that the potatoes were inspected in Canada and met Algerian standards.

A spokesman for Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dianne Ablonczy said again Tuesday that the government is monitoring Tepper's case.

Should the prime minister intervene on Henk Tepper's behalf? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below.


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