If you know me by now, you get the idea that I am loud and outspoken about my beliefs and willing to die on the cross—figuratively speaking—to defend what I hold to be principles to abide with. For instance: Tell the truth all the time, even if it costs you; or stand up for the oppressed even if they are faraway removed and of different ethnic, religious and/or ideological background. I had been imprisoned for four years in defence of my musings. When I was released, I vowed to the officers who held me hostage that, “I will not be a victim but rather a victor.” So, I went on to write two books and published one of them. I go around the western part of Canada, and even a few times online in the western US, telling people about my experience with the legal system and the many horrible stories I have encountered, some of which are included in The Imprisoned Blogger book.
One would think this is the civilized and learned way of dealing with such a turn of events, but the Canadian federal government thinks otherwise. It turns out that the federal government has employed large resources to embed multiple agents to spy on me and many of my friends by taking photos and screen shots of perfectly legal activities. These activities include book talks in Vernon and Grand Forks at public libraries, and the government is trying to paint these as violations of Canadian law.
A compiled 330+ page fraudulent report, filled with falsehoods presented under oath, made up two filings in the court by Randal Hyland, a whiny barrister sucking Canadian taxpayer money to fatten his coffers.
The author of the majority of the report identifies himself as Michael Christopoulos, an Inland Enforcement Officer with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). He included a number of solemn declarations on which he opines on my supposed personal beliefs, except he is using the musings, posts and poetry of another individual to read into my thoughts. INSANE. But he swore on it. He also erroneously attributes posts made by the local public library and district as if it was authored by The Imprisoned Blogger.
Which brings us to the photo here. It is a picture of the government application nesting deservingly in the garbage can at my food joint. Upon receiving this application, and before I even opened it, I chucked it in the garbage and took a photo of the government’s hard work where it belongs. I then sent it to Trevor Gross, also of CBSA and one of the main perpetrators in this perpetual pit of waste of Canadian taxpayer dollars. This guy has made a career doing the questionable work of this hate-driven agency.
I never thought it would happen, but as the photo here shows on the bottom right corner, it is stamped as an “exhibit.” The federal government filed in court this image of their own application thrown into the garbage. To immortalize this moment in Canadian history, I proudly will take this one for the team. CBSA seems to think harassing me is a more appropriate use of Canadian taxpayer dollars than actually securing the borders or stopping cross-border crime, like drug smuggling or human trafficking. Surely, there will be more to come of this.
Othman Hamdan
Oh. I guess I hurt your feelings too.
This post wouldn’t be complete without the perspective of the individual whose work is being shown as evidence against the accused. This individual is me—publisher/owner of The Imprisoned Blogger blog and online accounts, as well as editor of The Imprisoned Blogger book.
While I haven’t been invisible to contributing to The Imprisoned Blogger, I have meant to stay in the background doing the work so the important stories can be told. However, due to current events, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has forced my hand to speak out and share my part in the bigger story.
Five years ago, I was a book editor hearing some incredible stories about Canadian agencies employing systemic racist practices and unchecked corrupt actions to persecute immigrants and refugees. This led me to wanting to support the people who were being targeted and silenced, which led me to activism against a system that is not serving the greater good. This is why you see The Imprisoned Blogger in the formats that it exists today. This is also likely why I am being harassed by CBSA, an agency which seems to not care about any boundaries when it comes to immigrants or Canadian citizens.
I’d love to delve directly into the “evidence” that Othman (Adam) previously mentioned, but before that, it might be good to share some of the backstory, specifically how I met Adam, how I became a bondsperson, my witnessing of hateful actions by agencies, communities, and individuals, and the first time* CBSA tried to use my personal work to persecute my friend. It may be worth mentioning that it was July when Adam and I had a hint of what was to come when I received a letter from Trevor Gross, Manager, Intelligence and Enforcement Operations Division, of CBSA, that the security deposit I had put up for Adam’s release was at risk of being forfeited. He alleged breaches of Adam’s conditions (Adam also received his own letter) and I was to literally pay the price for this. I had 30 days to respond to the letter, which I did with advice from legal professionals. The breaches to which they were accusing Adam of were not, and as of yet have not, been ruled upon by the Immigration Division—the next and proper step in this process. This was a main point in my rebuttal letter; how could they warrant any action without a proper ruling? However, this did not seem to matter as Adam Perzow, Manager, Enforcement and Intelligence Operations of CBSA, sent a decision letter to inform me issues raised in my submissions did not “warrant the maintenance of the bond.” The cash bond I posted in January of 2022 was to be directed for forfeiture.
I laugh at the terminology government uses to make themselves unaccountable for their actions, in this case it’s “forfeiture.” Like I was just deciding to give my money up because I thought something was wrong. I did not forfeit my money; it was taken from me. When speaking to a lawyer regarding my letter of response, it was suggested that this was a flex move by CBSA in order to intimidate on the basis of other legal proceedings they are facing. Intimidation doesn’t work when you present evidence that is false, fabricated, and makes others wonder what type of expert training the “experts” have. However, with my money gone and status as bondsperson in the past, I am released from answering to CBSA. I guess I did pay the price; to talk about this openly.
To catch up, here are links to the backstory:
The Real Story about Community: Part I
The Real Story about Community: Part II
The Real Story about Media: Part I
The Real Story about Media: Part II
The Real Story About Government Overreach *the first time my work was used as “evidence”
The Real Story about a Phone and a Flood
Merielle M Kazakoff
©The Imprisoned Blogger
The Imprisoned Blogger 