The parents of a Perthshire mine worker who had been facing five years in jail in Kyrgyzstan for comparing a local sausage to a horse’s penis confirmed that their son was being deported from the landlocked Central Asian country an outcome they described as “both a relief and a sin”.
Michael Mcfeat, 39, a supervisor welder for Toronto-based Centerra Gold, was arrested after posting the comment about the “chuchuk” horsemeat sausage on Facebook a move which led to a temporary strike at the Kumtor open pit where he worked.
In his Facebook post on December 31, Mr Mcfeat posted a picture of colleagues at the mine enjoying what he described as a “fantastic Hogmanay feast”.
The post added: “The Kyrgyz people queuing out of the door for there special delicacy the horse’s penis!!!” (sic).
Radio Azattyk in Kyrgyzstan said that Mr Mcfeat’s post had “caused a lot of discontent and resentment on the part of local staff”, who demanded respect for the traditions of the people of Kyrgyzstan.
Mr Mcfeat later deleted the original post and replaced it with an apology on Saturday, which said he had not intended to offend anyone.
Mr Mcfeat’s parents, John and Marilyn, of Balbeggie, said he had simply been praising the chef for an excellent Hogmanay meal, and his remark had been misconstrued.
Michael’s father John, 63, said he had learned that his son was to be ejected from Kyrgyzstan, not because of the joke, but because “wrong documentation” had come to light during the local police investigation into the post.
The BBC’s Central Asian service also confirmed that, according to the Karakol City Court, the police had decided that Mr Mcfeat had not been inciting ethnic violence through his comments.
John said he did not yet know when Michael, their only son, would be getting back to the UK, but he explained that he and Marilyn, 62, together with Michael’s wife Amanda, a 40-year-old book-keeper, were “hugely relieved”.
He said: “I haven’t spoken to him yet, but he’s coming home as far as I’m concerned, and that’s a great relief to us.
“I don’t want to say too much at the moment, because I don’t want to jeopardise anything.
“But it’s actually such a sin, because he loved working over there and he really loved the people, but it was just that silly statement.
“They obviously wouldn’t have discovered the wrong papers if it hadn’t been for all this, but at least he’s safe that’s the main thing.”
Michael lives in Abernethy with Amanda and their two children, a girl of eight and a boy of five.
He was reported to have been arrested at Manas International Airport, close to the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, on Sunday.
The Foreign Office had earlier confirmed it was in contact with the local authorities in Kyrgyzstan after a British national was detained.