Michael Kapoustin - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Is Michael Kapoustin Innocent?

He was found innocent of fraud by the Bulgarian courts.
He was wrongfully convicted on a charge that makes no legal sense.
He did not personally benefit from the money he was accused of taking from his company.
All the money Kapoustin is accused of embezzling, was in fact, used for his company and fully accounted for through the purchase of corporate assets or corporate bank deposits in Bulgaria, prior to Bulgarian authorities seizing these corporate assets and bank accounts.
Kapoustin was charged and convicted for political reasons and he did not get a fair trial.

This has been going on for a long time. Why haven't we heard about this case?

For a lot of reasons! Bulgarian authorities did a complete job of destroying Michael Kapoustin's reputation and life. They knowingly made false statements in the media that he was a sexual predator and an international "fraudster". Western media showed little interest in the story, as they were told by their sources that this guy was guilty and didn't deserve any air time.

Kapoustin's family has struggled for more than 12 years against death threats, attempts at extortion in exchange for his freedom and was told by government officials that it would be detrimental to Kapoustin's safety in Bulgarian prison if they went public.

Why go public now?

For 12 years, Kapoustin's family has done what all the officials have told them to do; stay quiet, don't make a fuss, and he'll be sent home soon; give us money and we will free him; drop all appeals and law suits and he will be transferred to a prison in Canada; have patience, everything will be OK very soon. Well it's not! Kapoustin himself feels the "greatest mistake was not going public long ago".

The Kapoustin family was told that "quiet diplomacy" was the way out of this nightmare. Faced with death threats, extortion attempts against them, and overwhelming concern for Kapoustin's safety in prison, they waited with excruciating patience for Bulgaria to transfer Kapoustin to Canada, which Bulgaria refuses to do.

Is Canada doing everything it can to get Michael Kapoustin back home?

The Kapoustin family is grateful for the efforts by Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who in 2006, not only wrote directly to the Bulgarian President but also appointed Jason Kenney, MP, now Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, as his Special Envoy on the Kapoustin matter. Kenney traveled to Bulgaria in September 2006 to meet the highest ranking Bulgarian authorities and to visit Kapoustin at the Sofia prison. In addition, Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety and MP for the Kapoustin family has carefully reviewed the situation and written to Bulgaria to give them assurances about transferring Kapoustin to the Canadian prison system.

Through the efforts of Kenney, Day and Helena Guergis, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the government of Canada has triggered the mediation clause of the convention that oversees transfer requests of sentenced persons between governments. Canada must now be well prepared for the meetings and demonstrate its total commitment to bringing Kapoustin home.

How can we help?

First by logging into this website. That will show your support for bringing Kapoustin home to Canada.

As Canadian citizens, you can write to your MP and tell him/her about this situation and ask them to raise it in parliament as a priority for Canada to defend the rights of its citizens abroad.

As persons living in an EU or Council of Europe member state, you can express your concerns to these organizations about the progress Bulgaria is making in complying with international laws and norms as demonstrated by the Kapoustin case.

Please go to Have Your Say for assistance in getting your message out.

What is the Council of Europe?

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 and is domiciled in Strasbourg, France. It operates the European Court of Human Rights, which is the highest European court for human rights and fundamental freedoms and acts to protect the rule of law and to foster legal co-operation through some 200 conventions and other treaties. Please see www.coe.int