New Brunswick farmer Henk Tepper, right, and his father Berend Tepper, of Tobique Farms. Henk Tepper has been detained in Lebanon on an international criminal warrant at the request of the Algerian government, according to his lawyer.Mark Rickard
A New Brunswick lawyer is asking Ottawa to charge a Grand Falls-area potato farmer with the same alleged offences that landed him in a Lebanese prison for the last three months.
Rodney Gillis says the move would mean Lebanon would have to extradite Hank Tepper back to Canada to face the charges here, taking precedence over a call to deport him to Algeria.
Mr. Gillis was in Ottawa on Tuesday where he joined New Brunswick Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc in calling on Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to act.
Tepper is being held on an international criminal warrant issued by the International Criminal Police Organization at the request of the Algerian government.
Algeria alleges that Mr. Tepper forged documents to sneak potatoes through Algerian customs.
Mr. Gillis says Mr. Tepper's deportation to Algeria has been stalled because Lebanon doesn't have an extradition treaty with Algeria.