New Brunswick potato farmer sues Ottawa for imprisonment overseas

Being a farmer takes patience and the willingness to shrug off setbacks in the hope of a payoff down the road in a rich harvest.

Keep that in mind as you read about Henk Tepper, who's suing the federal government after spending more than a year in a Lebanese prison over charges he calls bogus, The Canadian Press reports.

You might remember Tepper, the New Brunswick potato farmer who found himself under arrest in Lebanon two years ago while on a government-sponsored promotional tour of the Middle East touting seed potatoes.

He was collared on an international arrest warrant on charges he allegedly exported rotten potatoes to Algeria and forged export documents. Tepper has categorically denied any wrongdoing.

Tepper was eventually freed and arrived back home March 31, 2012 after spending 374 days in custody, CBC News reported at the time. His family said he suffered mental and physical problems during his incarceration and his farm went into bankruptcy protection beneath debts of $11 million.

[ Related: Ottawa says letter won't free Henk Tepper ]

In a statement of claim filed Monday in the Federal Court of Canada, Tepper alleged the RCMP provided misinformation to Algerian authorities prior to his arrest, The Canadian Press reported. And once he was in custody, Ottawa didn't do enough to get him, Tepper claimed.

His family had asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper to request Tepper's release but Diane Ablonczy, minister of state for foreign affairs, said it was not as simple as writing a letter to Lebanese officials, Postmedia News reported in late 2011.

“The Lebanese government specifically dismisses the allegation that a simple letter would release Mr. Tepper and affirms that it must act in accordance with Lebanon’s international legal obligations when faced with a request for extradition,” Ablonczy told the House of Commons, according to Postmedia News.

[ Relate: South African doctor locked away in UAE prison 10 years after working for Canadian-managed hospital ]

Tepper's lawyers were able to secure his release through a Lebanese presidential decree, The Canadian Press said.

After Tepper returned, Ablonczy said the government had been "quietly and persistently working through diplomatic channels to resolve his situation," QMI Agency noted. Tepper's lawyers dismissed that claim, saying Lebanese officials wondered aloud to them why Ottawa wasn't doing anything on the file.

The claims in Tepper's $16.5-million suit have not been proven in court and the government has not yet filed a statement of defence.