Canadian Naser Al-Raas who says he was tortured in Bahrain

http://news.nationalpost.com

A Canadian man, who says he was jailed and tortured in Bahrain for taking part in pro-democracy protests, has arrived in Montreal, his wife told Postmedia News late Tuesday evening. “I have talked to two of Naser’s sisters [who] confirmed that Naser has arrived home. I didn’t talk to him yet. He is out now. I’m waiting for his call,” Zainab Ahmed said in an email. Naser Al-Raas was freed in February after lobbying from the Canadian Consulate and various international rights agencies. The Kuwaiti-born Canadian citizen says he was then stranded in the country after Bahraini authorities refused to return any of his ID or belongings and the company charged with delivering a new passport to him lost it. He left Egypt on Sunday and flew out of Amsterdam early Tuesday morning.Al-Raas had been convicted of breaking Bahrain’s illegal-assembly laws after taking part in pro-democracy protests and was facing a five-year prison sentence. His detention began on March 20, 2011, when Bahraini authorities arrested him at the airport. Al-Raas, 29, described his detention as a “continuous horror dream, where you cannot wake up.” “I was electrocuted six or seven times, but I was beaten every day. … Those were the worst days of my life,’” he told Postmedia News in a previous interview. Al-Raas also has an underlying heart condition — a chronic pulmonary embolism — according to a report from his doctor. His case drew international attention, with supporters using social media and online campaigns to call for his release. Amnesty International also took up his cause. Ahmed, who married Al-Raas after he was released from prison on Feb. 6, said she and Al-Raas are trying to keep their attitude positive, but are distraught that Ahmed had to remain in Egypt because the couple doesn’t have a marriage certificate. “My situation is complicated. I am in Egypt now and Naser will be in Canada in hours,” Ahmed said in an email earlier in the day. “I can’t go back to Bahrain; it’s too dangerous for me now and I can’t enter Canada. It will take a long time before I can join my husband,” Ahmed said. “I feel like all the doors are closed in my face. Our last hope was to have a marriage certificate from Egypt, but the Bahraini Embassy refused to give me the permission to marry Naser. So, we couldn’t make it. Wherever I go, I will need that permission from them. I feel like I’m restricted. I can’t do anything.” Still, Ahmed said, she’s hoping for the best, and will remain in Egypt until she’s able to come to Canada to be with Al-Raas.