68
OTTAWA — A Canadian woman jailed in Mexico tearfully exchanged “I Love Yous” with her heartsick mother on Parliament Hill Saturday as dozens of people rallied for her release.
Brenda Martin replied “I love you too, mommy” as her mother, Marjorie Bletcher, sobbed in an open cellphone conversation during the demonstration.
A Conservative MP at the rally also revealed that the federal government is investigating the leak of a Foreign Affairs document to The Canadian Press, detailing contacts Canadian consular officials in Guadalajara have had with Ms. Martin since she was imprisoned in February, 2006.
“The matter is being looked into by the government, to try and find out the source of the leak,” said Rick Norlock, MP for the eastern Ontario riding of Northumberland-Quinte West. “It's not something that any government wants to see happen – let alone our government.”
The office of Canada's privacy commissioner has also said it will investigate to see whether Ms. Martin's privacy was violated by the leak.
Ms. Martin hasn't refuted the contents of the document that says she's had regular contact with Canadian officials, but called the leak a smear campaign to divert attention away from the government's unwillingness to intervene in her case.
Ms. Martin has been held in a Mexican jail for more than two years without trial, accused of money laundering and criminal conspiracy.
She denies any involvement in an Internet-based fraud scheme, which was masterminded by her former boss and bilked 15,000 investors out of nearly $60-million (U.S.).
Mr. Norlock faced a barrage of angry questions from people at the rally, including Ms. Martin's childhood friend, Debra Tieleman.
“Why can't the government stand up for Brenda's rights as they were violated under international law,” Ms. Tieleman asked Mr. Norlock as they stood beneath the Peace Tower. “What is the point of having international laws if Canada can't defend Canadian citizens with regard to them?”
Mr. Norlock maintained that the federal government is continuing to advocate for a speedy resolution by Mexican prosecutors of Ms. Martin's case.
Two Thunder Bay women who were considered suspects in the slayings of a Woodbridge, Ont., couple in Mexico two years ago showed their support of Ms. Martin by attending the rally.
One of the women, Cheryl Everall, drilled Mr. Norlock over the government's perceived failure to advocate on their behalf, and warned that the Conservatives would be held accountable should Ms. Martin not survive her ordeal.
“Our hearts break for Brenda, knowing that this is the Canadian justice system that advocates for due process in a country that has no due process,” Ms. Everall said. “If she dies in this prison, it will be on the burden of the Canadian government.”
Ms. Martin had earlier threatened to kill herself if she wasn't released.
Ms. Everall, 33, and Kimberly Kim, 32, were staying at the same Mexican resort where Domenic and Nancy Ianiero were slain Feb. 20, 2006. Ms. Kim and Ms. Everall were later accused by Mexican officials of the killings.
Mexican authorities last summer said the two women were not suspects in the brutal slayings, although Ms. Everall said investigators recently asked both for DNA samples.
Bello Melchor Rodriguez y Carrillo, attorney general for the state of Quintana Roo, has blamed the two single mothers in the slayings, insisting they were “assassins.”
Had it not been for their departure from Mexico within hours after the Ianiero's were slain, both women say they would be in the same situation as Brenda Martin is today.
“And that should be a message that all Canadians should think about before travelling to Mexico,” Ms. Kim said.
No one has been arrested for the killings. The Ianiero family's lawyer has pointed the finger at a resort security guard who disappeared after the killings.
