No means no

Let's hope the Conservative government's decision to no longer ask for clemency for Canadians sentenced to death in "democratic" countries doesn't prove to be a fatal error in the case of Mohamed Kohail.

Kohail, 23, who immigrated to Canada in 2000 and then settled in Dollard des Ormeaux, was sentenced last week to be beheaded by courts in Saudi Arabia, where he was born. The tale revolves around a school-yard fight that left a 19-year-old man dead. Kohail's younger brother, Sultan, also faces a death sentence. It has been reported that Kohail's 'trial' was anything but fair, as his legal representative was permitted to attend court proceedings only once and that the defence was not able to present any evidence or call witnesses. This is a far cry from the justice systems in democratic countries, which Saudi Arabia isn't. So the Harper government has publicly stated it will help the family and intervene in the case, as it should. The problem is that while Canadians all know there is a difference between the justice system in the United States and the one in Saudi Arabia, Canada's position to intervene in one case and not another will not sit well with Saudi officials nor their royal family, who have been linked to the man who died in the brawl.

The Conservative government's mistake was to turn a blind eye last fall to the death sentence given to Alberta-born Ronald Smith, who was convicted in the United States and is now on death row in Montana for committing a double murder. No one is arguing his conviction should be overturned, but Canada doesn't have the death penalty and our government, on principle, should at least object to it whenever it involves a Canadian citizen.

On top of that, Canada has had several well-known wrongful murder convictions, such as the cases of Steven Truscott and David Milgaard, who were once convicted of murder in their youth but decades later were cleared. If the death penalty existed in Canada, there would be little opportunity to correct errors made in our courts.

Pierrefonds-Dollard MP Bernard Patry was right when he spoke up in the House of Commons on Monday and stated the Government of Canada has to be vigilant in cases where Canadians are being detained abroad, especially in countries with the death penalty. "This is not a matter of interfering in another country's business, but of ensuring that all the rights of each Canadian citizen are respected and, more importantly, that each gets a fair trial," he said.

Canada cannot play politics with the death penalty. As long as the death penalty is not on the books in Canada, our government should reflect that position in our foreign policy.