Canadian Diplomats Exposed To Unusual Illness In Cuba Suing Ottawa For $21Mln - Reports

Canadian Diplomats Exposed to Unusual Illness in Cuba Suing Ottawa for $21Mln - Reports

Canadian diplomats who experienced unusual health issues while working in Cuba are suing Ottawa for 28 million Canadian dollars (some $21 million), according to the CBC broadcaster.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2019) Canadian diplomats who experienced unusual health issues while working in Cuba are suing Ottawa for 28 million Canadian Dollars (some $21 million), according to the CBC broadcaster.

The diplomats and their families, making 14 people in total, blame the Canadian government for delaying their evacuation from Havana and their medical treatment, the media reported on Wednesday.

"Throughout the crisis, Canada downplayed the seriousness of the situation, hoarded and concealed critical health and safety information, and gave false, misleading and incomplete information to diplomatic staff," the plaintiffs said in their statement, as quoted by the media.

The diplomats claim that they continue to experience health issues despite already being back in Canada for over 18 months.

The unusual illness was first reported by the Canadian embassy employees in 2016, but no new cases had been registered since the fall of 2017. According to the Canadian Foreign Ministry, the diplomats experienced headaches, dizziness and difficulties with concentration. Moreover, the symptoms remained even after some of the embassy staff left Havana and, in some cases, reappeared after seeming to have gone away.

The employees of the Canadian embassy are not the only diplomats in Cuba who have been showing these strange symptoms. In 2017, the US authorities said that some of the diplomats working at their embassy in Havana had been affected by a mysterious audio device and displayed symptoms similar to the ones shown by Canadian embassy staff.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry has denied any Cuban involvement in the incidents.