Potato farmer Tepper out of jail if Canada asks Lebanon, suggests lawyer

The lawyer for a New Brunswick potato farmer who has been jailed in Lebanon for the past nine months says that a letter from Ottawa (Canadian Government) is all that's needed to free his client.

Henk Tepper, 44, has been held in a Beirut prison since March. He was arrested in the Middle Eastern country under an international arrest warrant over allegations that he exported rotten potatoes to Algeria in 2007.

His lawyer, Jim Mockler, said he spoke to Lebanese Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi in Beirut on Tuesday and was told that Tepper's case is now in the hands of the Lebanese government rather than the country's court system.

Qortbawi "is in a position of making a political decision with respect to what to do with Mr. Tepper,"Mockler told CBC News by phone.

"There is an opportunity for the Government of Canada to act now to bring Henk home,"he said.

Tepper has not been charged with a crime, and maintains that he's innocent. His lawyers argue that the potatoes were inspected in Canada and met Algerian standards.

The Canadian government has resisted getting involved in the case, saying that it doesn't interfere in the legal proceedings of should play out on its own. but

Mockler said he met with Qortbawi Tuesday afternoon, along with New Brunswick Senator Pierrette Ringuette and Ontario Senator Mac Harb.

Any decision to release the potato farmer would require the approval of the Lebanese president and prime minister, Mockler said.