Fahmy on Egypt ordeal: “abandoned and betrayed” by Harper

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Former Al Jazeera journalist Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, who was arrested in Egypt in 2013 and detained for almost two years on terror-related charges, is criticizing the Conservative government for what he called a lack of help when he was in an Egyptian jail.

“There was a chorus from the international community of journalists & politicians and even Egyptian officials were telling us that Mr Harper was not there for you. While you here citizens of Canada & around the world clearly understood the situation we faced in prison in Egypt, the Harper government did not. And this is the truth.”

“There are no words to describe how it feels when you are wrongfully convicted in a cold cell, infested with insects, nurturing a broken shoulder. When you are there you only hope the prime minister will do everything in his power to get you out of there.”

“Our prime minister delegated his responsibility to people who lacked the clout to really get me out of there. Sitting in that prison it was difficult not to feel betrayed and abandoned by prime minister Harper. ”

Fahmy met last night with Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and plans to meet with NDP leader Tom Mulcair this week to highlight what Canada can do to better protect fellow Canadians abroad.