I would like to thank Consular Case Management Officer Josée Ménard and her predecessor Martine Roquebrune for communicating with us along this journey. Thanks also to Monique l’Heureux, Gayle Forster and Patricia Fortier at the Department of Consular Affairs for your support, you are amazing women. Thank you to Guillermo E. Rishchynski, Canada’s Ambassador to Mexico, who visited Pavel, advocated on his behalf, met with judges, lawyers and more and the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs), who worked on Pavel’s behalf. Also, Darryl Whitehead, Special Assistant Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dan McTeague, M.P. Pickering-Scarborough and Official Opposition Critic for Consumer Affairs and Consular Services and thank you to the many other team members at Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and in the Consulate Office in Guadalajara and Mexico City, who tirelessly and patiently helped us make sense of everything that has happened during this ordeal.

To the Judge who ruled on Pavel’s release from prison and the Mexican government who saw to it that he made it back home to Canada safely, thank you for restoring my faith in justice and the Mexican judicial system.

I would like to thank my local Members of Parliament, John Weston, West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast and Andrew Saxon, North Vancouver for caring enough to voice my family’s plight to the Canadian Government. I would like to thank Taleeb Noormohamed, the Liberal Party of Canada’s Candidate in North and Michael Ignatieff for pledging their assistance should they have been elected.

I would like to thank Robert Osborne and John Woodward from CTV, the team at Global and the numerous other members of the Canadian media who believed in Pavel and helped bring his story to the Canadian public.

I would like to thank the Free Pavel Kulisek team members Lauren Ellis, Judy Nash, Sharka Stuyt, Ron Shewchuk, Lee Asher, Scott Macfarlane, Elspeth Hart, Sandrine Pelissier, Simon Kaja and others for managing the web site, responding to emails, petitioning, walking for justice, raising donations and passionately standing by my side until the end. And thank you to the friends of Pavel’s supporters who I never met.

And lastly, but most importantly I would like to thank Jozef Kovar for being part of the family in Pavel’s absence, Hans Denee for his faithful support every day and every step of the way, Ramona Penner, Pavel’s medical doctor who was at my side advocating daily. Special thanks also to Robert Kelly who advocated endlessly on Pavel’s behalf, Beba and Patricia who visited Pavel in Mexico, the lawyers who assisted, Memo Cruz, Dean Peroff, Daniel Mol, Orlando Mondragon, contributors Janette Mezeyova, Dan McTeague, Andrew Butt, Ferd Tolentino, the Carisbrooke School families and the many friends, family, neighbours, Friends of West Vancouver Baptist Church and North Vancouver community members and supporters who emailed, came out to rallies, phoned, signed petitions and showed their compassion, caring and support in so many uncountable ways. All those who made it possible for me to continue to live in the garage of my home, raise my girls alone and to be able to work two jobs all the while keeping my belief that Pavel would one day return home to our family. Without all of you my girls and I would not have survived this terrible ordeal. It is not possible for me to name you all, but you know who you are. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for your ongoing kindness, generosity, love and support.

Jirina Kulisek, on behalf of Isabella, Annie and Pavel.

See more on Pavel Kulisek official website : http://www.pavelkulisek.com/

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

Thursday, August 18, 2011 

Pavel Kulisek Released from Mexican Prison 

Vindicated Canadian is Reunited With His Family as Three-and-a-Half-Year Ordeal Ends

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. – Pavel Kulisek’s three-and-a-half-year nightmare ended on Tuesday, August 16 when he was cleared of all charges by a Mexican judge due to a lack of sufficient evidence and released from prison.

Kulisek had a joyful private reunion with his wife Jirina, their two young daughters and other family members today after arriving at the Vancouver International Airport.

“I am happy to be back home with my family and grateful for all the generous support we have received,” says Kulisek. “I look forward to putting this terrible experience behind me and getting back to a normal life.”

While on an extended family vacation on the Baja Peninsula in March 2008, Kulisek was arrested in a police raid on a hot dog stand where he was having dinner with a local resident who shared his interest in dirt biking. The man turned out to be a major figure in the Tijuana drug trade, and Kulisek was falsely accused of drug trafficking and being a member of a criminal organization.

Kulisek languished in prison for three and a half years without a trial. From the beginning, he insisted he was guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jirina Kulisek spent her time struggling to make a living and look after their children at the same time as she fought to expedite her husband’s safe return to Canada.

“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to those who have supported and helped Pavel and our family during our painful journey over the past three years,” she says. “Without all of you, my girls and I would not have survived this terrible ordeal. Thank-you for your ongoing kindness, generosity, love and support.” A more detailed written acknowledgement from Jirina will be released soon.

The Kuliseks have no immediate plans. “We hope to take the family on a camping trip,” says Jirina.

The Kulisek family requests that their privacy be respected by the media for the next 24 hours and that all interview requests be directed to the contact below.

Media contact: Ron Shewchuk 604-351-1999, ron@ronshewchuk.com

Web site: www.pavelkulisek.com

Facebook page: “Support Pavel Kulisek”

Twitter feed: @JusticeForPavel

[...]

Jones used his closing remarks to address Kulisek’s supporters, many of whom were wearing Jailed Without Justice shirts.

“Pavel has been rotting in a Mexican jail for three years,” he said, turning his comments to Saxton and Noormohamed. “I would charge these two gentlemen . . . that they do whatever it takes to bring him home.”[...]

Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/news/decision-canada/candidates+draw+crowd/4697152/story.html#ixzz1KvrSfE00

Click on image to go to Google maps Rally Locations

Pleas for government help for jailed Canadian in Mexico go unanswered

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. - The wife of jailed Canadian Pavel Kulisek has been denied up-to-date information about her husband’s medical condition, and urgent pleas for help to address Kulisek’s health crisis and end his Mexican prison nightmare continue to be ignored by the Harper government.

Worried about Kulisek’s safety and frustrated by government inaction, Kulisek’s supporters are organizing a second public rally to draw public and government attention to his cause on Wednesday, April 27 at Highland Church in North Vancouver. The rally will begin at 6.00 p.m. and is timed to coincide with a federal election all-candidates meeting at the church.

In 2008 Kulisek was falsely accused of having ties to Mexican drug lords. He has been imprisoned without a trial for over three years. On March 13, 2011, a desperate Kulisek tried to hang himself in his federal maximum-security prison cell and was transferred to a psychiatric prison in Mexico City.

North Vancouver family practitioner Dr. Ramona Penner was able to visit Kulisek in the psychiatric prison shortly after his suicide attempt. Based on her observations of Kulisek’s mental state, Dr. Penner is concerned that his life may be at risk if his three-year incarceration continues much longer. She has called for his return to Canada on humanitarian grounds so he can receive proper medical care.

Meanwhile, Kulisek’s wife Jirina has been unable to obtain current information about Pavel’s health from Mexican officials, a situation that has made her even more deeply concerned for his well-being.

“I have been told that I cannot have access to Pavel’s medical information out of respect for his privacy, but as his wife I should have a right to know how he is being treated and if his health is in danger,” she says, adding that Canadian authorities have refused to intervene on her behalf. “I am worried and afraid. My family needs help. I feel as if our country is letting us down.”

Second North Vancouver rally will draw attention to the urgency of Kulisek’s situation

Community organizer Lauren Ellis says that although a North Vancouver rally on April 16 attracted over 300 enthusiastic supporters and included statements of support from local politicians, the public outcry did not resolve Kulisek’s dire situation. “What we need is tangible action from Prime Minister Harper to ensure Pavel’s safety and help bring his unfair imprisonment to a timely end,” she says.

“It’s now been over six weeks since Pavel’s suicide attempt, and action to end this crisis is long overdue,” says Ellis. “We have reached out to our Prime Minister in good faith, and he has not answered our pleas. We have no choice but to escalate our campaign and continue to draw attention to Pavel’s cause.”

Some background

Pavel Kulisek, an immigrant from the Czech Republic, arrived in Canada 20 years ago and worked hard to establish a successful building contracting company. He was on an extended and well-deserved family vacation with his wife and two young daughters in Mexico when he was the lone Canadian among several Mexicans arrested in a drug sting in March 2008. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Kulisek had made friends with a local resident who shared his interest in dirt biking, unaware that the man was a high-ranking member of a drug cartel. Kulisek was arrested without a warrant and imprisoned for three months without being charged. His case has been delayed by red tape and legal wrangling ever since, with the chance of a trial at least eight months away. While Kulisek has languished in prison in Mexico, his wife Jirina and two young children have had only seven minutes per week of access to him by phone. Jirina and her daughters have had to move from their home into a refurbished garage to save money after spending over $100,000 to fund his legal defence.

Media contact: Ron Shewchuk 604-351-1999, ron@ronshewchuk.com

Web site: www.pavelkulisek.com

Facebook page: “Support Pavel Kulisek”

Twitter feed: @JusticeForPavel

Pavel Kulisek Support blog

CNKY March 31 Jirina Kuliskova, Pavel Kulisek’s wife  interview

(click to hear the interview)

Click on the picture to go to the North Shore News website.