( submitted photo/ Canadian Humanitarian)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Breaking News

Members of Medicine Hat based charity detained in Ethiopia

Feb 29, 2020 | 5:24 PM

Fifteen members of the Medicine Hat based charity group Canadian Humanitarian have been detained in Ethiopia.

According to the Canadian Humanitarian website, the 15 members consist of medical professional volunteers, general volunteers and Canadian Humanitarian staff members.

Thirteen of the fifteen detained are believed to be Canadian.

“As of right now they are being investigated on the allegations that they were practicing medicine without permission and had dispensed expired medication,” a post on their website read.

The group, however, denies the allegations and are now fighting back.

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“While we cannot comment on the specifics of the expiry of the medication, we can with confidence say that all medicine and care offered by our team was safe. Our medical groups are comprised of numerous doctors and medical professionals. The care they provide in Ethiopia is the same care they would provide here in Canada. We are vigorously defending the actions and decisions of our team knowing that every decision was made by highly trained and certified Canadian medical professionals and that their mission on this trip was to provide essential medical care to the citizens of Ethiopia who need it most.”

This is a breaking news story and CHAT News Today will provide more details when they become available.

CHAT News Today spoke to a representative from the organization and they are evaluating the information they currently have and are not providing further comment at this time.