Federal government denies claims in lawsuit filed by New Brunswick farmer

FREDERICTON – The federal government denies allegations that it did not do enough to secure the release of a New Brunswick farmer who spent more than a year in a Beirut jail after he was accused of shipping rotten potatoes to Algeria.

In a statement of defence, filed Thursday with the Federal Court in Ottawa, the government says it provided Henk Tepper with diplomatic help and made frequent diplomatic interventions on his behalf.

Tepper has alleged the government didn’t protect his Charter rights.

The $16.5-million lawsuit also says the RCMP provided misinformation to Algerian authorities prior to Tepper’s arrest.

The government’s statement of defence says the RCMP provided information that was already publicly available.

It says the damages claimed are excessive and exaggerated.

The claims in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.

Tepper was arrested in Lebanon on March 23, 2011, when he travelled to the Middle East on an agricultural trade mission to promote seed potatoes from Canada.

He was detained on an international arrest warrant on allegations he exported rotten potatoes to Algeria in 2007 and forged export documents — allegations he denies.

Tepper returned to Canada on March 31, 2012, after his lawyers obtained a Lebanese presidential decree.