The Official Website of Pavel Kulisek


	OFFICIAL WEBSITE SUPPORTING CANADIAN WRONGFULLY JAILED IN MEXICO
	Pavel Kulisek, an immigrant from the Czeck Republic, arrived in Canada twenty years ago and worked hard to establish a successful building contracting company. The long hours building up his business meant that he had little time for his family. Pavel and his wife Jirina decided to move to Mexico for a few years where life could be lived at a much slower pace. Little did they know that their dream would soon turn into a nightmare.

A message from Jirina Kulisek
Aug. 19, 2011
I would like to extend my deepest of gratitude to those who have supported and helped Pavel and me during our long painful journey over the past three and a half years.

I would like to thank Consular Case Management Officer Josée Ménard and her predecessor Martine Roquebrune for communicating with us along this journey. Thanks also to Monique l'Heureux, Gayle Forster and Patricia Fortier at the Department of Consular Affairs for your support, you are amazing women. Thank you to Guillermo E. Rishchynski, Canada's Ambassador to Mexico, who visited Pavel, advocated on his behalf, met with judges, lawyers and more and the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs), who worked on Pavel's behalf. Also, Darryl Whitehead, Special Assistant Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dan McTeague, M.P. Pickering-Scarborough and Official Opposition Critic for Consumer Affairs and Consular Services and thank you to the many other team members at Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and in the Consulate Office in Guadalajara and Mexico City, who tirelessly and patiently helped us make sense of everything that has happened during this ordeal.

To the Judge who ruled on Pavel's release from prison and the Mexican government who saw to it that he made it back home to Canada safely, thank you for restoring my faith in justice and the Mexican judicial system.

I would like to thank my local Members of Parliament, John Weston, West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast and Andrew Saxon, North Vancouver for caring enough to voice my family's plight to the Canadian Government. I would like to thank Taleeb Noormohamed, the Liberal Party of Canada's Candidate in North and Michael Ignatieff for pledging their assistance should they have been elected.

I would like to thank Robert Osborne and John Woodward from CTV, the team at Global and the numerous other members of the Canadian media who believed in Pavel and helped bring his story to the Canadian public.

I would like to thank the Free Pavel Kulisek team members Lauren Ellis, Judy Nash, Sharka Stuyt, Ron Shewchuk, Lee Asher, Scott Macfarlane, Elspeth Hart, Sandrine Pelissier, Simon Kaja and others for managing the web site, responding to emails, petitioning, walking for justice, raising donations and passionately standing by my side until the end. And thank you to the friends of Pavel's supporters who I never met.

And lastly, but most importantly I would like to thank Jozef Kovar for being part of the family in Pavel's absence, Hans Denee for his faithful support every day and every step of the way, Ramona Penner, Pavel's medical doctor who was at my side advocating daily. Special thanks also to Robert Kelly who advocated endlessly on Pavel's behalf, Beba and Patricia who visited Pavel in Mexico, the lawyers who assisted, Memo Cruz, Dean Peroff, Daniel Mol, Orlando Mondragon, contributors Janette Mezeyova, Dan McTeague, Andrew Butt, Ferd Tolentino, the Carisbrooke School families and the many friends, family, neighbours, Friends of West Vancouver Baptist Church and North Vancouver community members and supporters who emailed, came out to rallies, phoned, signed petitions and showed their compassion, caring and support in so many uncountable ways. All those who made it possible for me to continue to live in the garage of my home, raise my girls alone and to be able to work two jobs all the while keeping my belief that Pavel would one day return home to our family. Without all of you my girls and I would not have survived this terrible ordeal. It is not possible for me to name you all, but you know who you are. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for your ongoing kindness, generosity, love and support.

Jirina Kulisek, on behalf of Isabella, Annie and Pavel.

Pavel Kulisek, an immigrant from the Czech Republic, arrived in Canada 20 years ago and worked hard to establish a successful building contracting company. He was on an extended and well-deserved family vacation with his wife and two young daughters in Mexico when he was the lone Canadian among several Mexicans arrested in a drug sting in March 2008. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Kulisek had made friends with a local resident who shared his interest in dirt biking, unaware that the man was a high-ranking member of a drug cartel. Kulisek was arrested without a warrant and imprisoned for three months without being charged. His case has been delayed by red tape and legal wrangling ever since, with the chance of a trial at least eight months away. Most of the original charges against Kulisek have been dropped for lack of evidence, and the original prosecutor on the case is in jail for taking bribes. While Kulisek has languished in prison in Mexico, his wife Jirina and two young children have had only seven minutes per week of access to him by phone. Jirina and her daughters have had to move from their home into a refurbished garage to save money after spending over $100,000 to fund his legal defense.