COUPLE'S SON SITS IN GREEK PRISON

Family Hopes Nightmare Ends In Canadian Cell

A West Kildonan couple is working to free their son from a Greek prison on
the outskirts of Athens where he is serving a life sentence for his role in
an international drug-smuggling ring.

But freedom for Kevin Hiebert will mean the inside of a cell somewhere in
Canada.

"We just want to get him home," Dick Hiebert, Kevin's father, said.

Dick and Patricia Hiebert have been living a nightmare ever since they
learned in late October 1999 that their son had been arrested while
travelling through the airport in Athens.

The Hieberts have no illusions about their son's innocence: Kevin was
caught hiding almost two kilograms of cocaine in the soles of three pairs
of shoes.

The nightmare got worse a year later. Kevin's Greek lawyer had told them he
could expect a sentence of three to five years. Instead, the Hieberts, who
had travelled to Athens for the trial last September, sat in stunned
silence when the judge sentenced their son to life imprison and imposed a
$150,000 U.S. fine.

"This has been hard on us," Hiebert said during an interview from the
Kilbride Avenue home where Kevin, now 27, grew up. Patricia Hiebert still
can't talk about what happened to Kevin without breaking down and did not
participate in the interview.

The Hieberts don't make excuses for Kevin. "They say that when your
children grow up, you have to give them the freedom to choose," Hiebert
said. "He made the wrong choice with the wrong people."

Kevin Hiebert is not alone. Officials with Foreign Affairs in Ottawa said
he is one of about 2,400 Canadians in custody in a jail cell somewhere
around the world.

Hiebert said Kevin, egged on by his lawyers and others, originally wanted
to appeal his sentence. But Greek justice officials said the earliest the
appeal could be heard would be 2005. Hiebert said Greek lawyers strongly
hinted they could buy Kevin's release from jail but they simply couldn't
afford it.

"We went looking for an honest Greek lawyer by making contacts with Amnesty
International and going to the Greek Orthodox community here," Hiebert
said. The Greek-Canadian community put them in touch with lawyer Michael
Mercury, who recently flew to Athens to speak to Kevin and officials with
the Canadian embassy and Greek justice officials.

Mercury said Kevin appeared to be holding up well. He hadn't been beaten or
mistreated but his cell is crowded with other inmates. Mercury said a
transfer could be completed between six months to a year if both the
Canadian government and the Greek justice agrees. Mercury said Canadian
embassy officials in Athens told him they'd support Kevin's transfer
application.

Hiebert said Kevin in the past week has formally withdrawn his appeal and
has requested the Greek justice department to consider his transfer to
Canada. He is in the process of making a similar request to Canadian officials.