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CaboRon
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Even Canadians not immune to injustice
Vancouver man remains in limbo after 15 months in Mexican jail awaiting drug trial
By Philip Ling, Canwest News ServiceJune 5, 2009
Canadian citizen being held in a Mexican jail on drug charges for more than a year will continue to be detained after a judge denied an appeal to
dismiss his case due to a lack of evidence.
Pavel Kulisek, 43, was arrested in Los Barriles, Mexico, last March shortly after he, his wife and their two daughters, age four and six, moved to
Mexico from Vancouver. He's been in a maximum-security prison in Guadalajara on drug trafficking and organized crime charges he says he knows nothing
about.
A Mexican judge this week rejected a request to dismiss the charges against Kulisek for lack of evidence and ordered the criminal procedures to
proceed.
His wife, Jirina Kuliskova, already distraught over Kulisek's imprisonment in Mexico, told Canwest News Service her family was "devastated" when the
judge denied the request.
"Every time my daughters ask me, 'When is daddy coming home?' I don't have an answer for them," Kuliskova said, crying, from her home in North
Vancouver, B.C.
Kulisek's lawyers and family have consistently maintained that the charges are unfounded, and he has been imprisoned for the last 15 months because he
happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
The problem started in March 2008, after his family moved to Los Barriles in Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Kulisek, who took up motorbike racing, was at a
local bike race when he became acquainted with a fellow enthusiast who introduced himself as Carlos Harrera.
"Carlos" was actually Gustavo Rivera Martinez - one of the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI's most wanted men and kingpin of the Tijuana cartel.
When police swooped in on him having dinner in March 2008, Kulisek was there and was also arrested.
According to Guillermo Cruz Rico, Kulisek's lawyer in Mexico, the only evidence against his client was an anonymous phone call, along with testimony
provided by a protected witness, a former police officer who has been convicted twice for corruption and drug trafficking with connections to
Martinez.
Under cross examination, the witness admitted he had never seen Kulisek commit any crime.
"He (the police officer) is not a trustful person," said Cruz Rico, who also defended Canadian Brenda Martin on fraud charges in Mexico.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says he has communicated Canada's concerns to Mexico.
"We are liaising with the Mexican authorities to express Canada's interest in this case," Cannon told the House of Commons, "and in his case,
obviously, to seek at the same time the assurances that Mr. Kulisek's right to due process is respected."
But Cannon says Canada can't interfere in the judicial system of a sovereign country.
"I just keep hearing that everyone's working hard, but nobody can tell me about specifics of what they're doing," said Kuliskova. "It seems to me that
they're gutless. They don't want to the extra steps to get my husband back to Canada.
"Why aren't they standing behind their citizens?"
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805gregg
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The country of Mexico has been around for like 180 years, and they still can't get their justice system right.
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longhairedbeatnik
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Wrong place at the wrong time I guess.
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DENNIS
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You're known for the company you keep. Isn't evidence of innocence still a requirment in Mexico? Has that changed? I know it's supposed to.....some
day.
[Edited on 6-7-2009 by DENNIS]
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Sharksbaja
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The story is not complete. There is something obviously not being told here much like that Cabo case.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Dave
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The bright side
| Quote: | Originally posted by CaboRon
When police swooped in on him having dinner in March 2008, Kulisek was there and was also arrested.
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Probably didn't have to pay for dinner or leave a tip. 
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Loretana
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sharksbaja
The story is not complete. There is something obviously not being told here much like that Cabo case. |
Obviously. This man needs to send his attorney to La Paz to request an immediate sentence.
His 'Auto Formal de Prision" has been dictated by the judge. Now he can get sentenced and put his documents in order for the "Canje" or Prisoner
Exchange Program. He'll be incarcerated there working this out for at least another year, minimum.
And they need to quit blabbing to the press if they want the wheels of justice to turn. The Mexican Federal judges have a real attitude about foreign
intervention in what is their sovreignty.
I don't condone what happened to this unfortunate guy, but if he's smart he'll live through his prison experience and come out speaking fairly good
Spanish!! 
"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration."
-Nikola Tesla
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Loretana
I don't condone what happened to this unfortunate guy, but if he's smart he'll live through his prison experience and come out speaking fairly good
Spanish!! |
I'm sure his dinner guest will make sure he doesn't do too much talking of any kind.
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Loretana
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That prison in Guadalajara is not the worst one in Mexico.
And his friend "Carlos" probably lives in a nice caraca on the inside with hot and cold running hookers.
I would think the Canadian is in a lockdown in that facility for his own protection. His attorney got Brenda Martin out, but not until she was
sentenced, lost her appeal and the Canadian government actually stepped up and went through diplomatic channels to push her paperwork along.
Mrs. Kuliskova needs to tell the kids that Daddy won't be home for at least another year.
[Edited on 6-7-2009 by Loretana]
"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration."
-Nikola Tesla
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Loretana
That prison in Guadalajara is not the worst one in Mexico.
And his friend "Carlos" probably lives in a nice caraca on the inside with hot and cold running hookers.
I would think the Canadian is in a lockdown in that facility for his own protection. His attorney got Brenda Martin out, but not until she was
sentenced, lost her appeal and the Canadian government actually stepped up and went through diplomatic channels to push her paperwork along.
Mrs. Kuliskova needs to tell the kids that Daddy won't be home for at least another year.
[Edited on 6-7-2009 by Loretana] |
Imagine being charmed and wined/dined- he must have felt like a rock star for about 2 hours. All prisoners are entitled to conjugal visits- of course
if a hooker is step up- why not?
Great book and movie deal opportunity. I hope he is keeping a journal and taking notes.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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ArroyoTaxi
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We watched a documentary about this case on CTV and it was heartbreaking. Here is a link: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/w-five/w-five-mexican-injustice/#cl...
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Bajahowodd
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OK. This may sound a bit cold. The videos amount to melodramatic shmaltz. I don't see much real journalism here. That being said, I absolutely cannot
believe that the Canadian government would not have, by now, had an innocent man released. Here's a question. Pavel packs up his family and ends up
buying a home in Los Barilles. What is his source of funds; his income? They portray him as a blue collar worker. Doesn't appear he'd have wealth. The
video mentions that he owed money to one of the guys he left to meet. So, he owed money to a corrupt cop? Maybe I'm way off base. But this just looks
like another attempt to diss Mexico. I will apologize when Pavel is released and exonerated.
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ArroyoTaxi
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From what I understand he worked really hard during the massive construction boom in Vancouver and they saved up. They then rented out their house in
North Vancouver and headed to Baja. The house they bought in Los Barriles was very modest - no one said they had "wealth" those are your words. and
yeah, actually, you do sound a bit cold. I only met this family a few times, but they made a lot of friends in Los Barriles and there are a lot of
people who are deeply upset and concerned for this guy. Your grand gesture of offering to "apologize when Pavel is released and exonerated" is pretty
moot considering the justice system in Mexico.
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k-rico
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
I absolutely cannot believe that the Canadian government would not have, by now, had an innocent man released. |
Forgetting the fact that the determination of guilt hasn't occurred, just how would the Canadian government get someone in a Mexican jail released?
Send in Dudley Do Right and his horse Nell?
[Edited on 6-7-2009 by k-rico]
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Bajajack
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This is a tough one?
Door #1, Guilty as Charged
or
Door #2, Guilty of Incredible Stupidity
\"take what you can, give nothing back!\"
We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the
American people.\'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
We can have no \"50-50\" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.
Theodore Roosevelt
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ArroyoTaxi
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wow - this is a tough crowd. I hope I'm not this unkind when I get old.
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ArroyoTaxi
wow - this is a tough crowd. I hope I'm not this unkind when I get old. |
who cares about a canadian who made bad choices in friends? i can't imagine that he was unaware he was associating with a thug and drug lord.
today people are worrying about a canadian who unwisely chose to hang out with a killer, and gringos (none of whom participate here) that got scammed
by gringo developers at loreto bay,...
but i noticed not one post about 30 children dying in the day care fire just across the bay.
...sort of sad,... (both)
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
but i noticed not one post about 30 children dying in the day care fire just across the bay.
...sort of sad,... (both) |
Not trying to correct you, goat...just bringing the story up to speed.
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Mexico City - Funerals for children
killed in a horrific fire at a public day care centre in north-western Mexico were held Sunday, as officials said the toll climbed to 41.
Three children died on Sunday, while 22 children and four adults remained in hospital, suffering from burns and smoke inhalation
Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article...
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ArroyoTaxi
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I'm really sad about every single one of those children - you see, I'm actually capable of caring about many, many things. I also care about the fate
of someone I believe has been unfairly imprisoned and I care about his family who are in a living hell. I care about all of them. Even if this guy
made stupid choices, I don't believe he should pay for it in this manner. Why are you guys getting so harsh about this? Why are you so offended that
I feel compassion and sorrow for the people involved in this story? I just don't get it.
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longhairedbeatnik
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This an example of how the law and justice system in Mexico can be taken for granted by visitors. The guilty until proven innocent is the way it is
and one must take this into account when visiting Mexico. This is not Canada nor is it the USA so act and behave accordingly. I am positive most
people will be sure they are not hanging out with someone who is trouble after hearing this story.
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