http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=986eebae-c1f8-4295-bd41-8a9ed2e860ba&k=88670

Bedard has her child back - and life's 'perfect'

By Max Harrold

February 09, 2007, Montreal Gazette (CAN)---Former Olympian Myriam Bedard and her 12-year-old daughter are living together again in Brossard, a month after she was arrested and charged with abducting the child.

"She's back with me, living her life as before. Everything's perfect," the 37-year-old double gold medallist in the biathlon said last night in a 30-minute interview on TVA television. Bedard, accompanied by her lawyer Simon Lahaie, said that she was reunited with her daughter, Maude, on Friday after intensive discussions with her ex-husband, Jean Paquet.

"It's an amicable agreement," she said. "But I was in such constant pain (because of the separation). That's why I was so insistent (on getting her back)."

Bedard was arrested Dec. 22 in Maryland and was held in a U.S. prison for two weeks before Quebec City police brought her home aboard an RCMP aircraft to face child-abduction charges. She and her partner, Nima Mazhari, took Maude to the U.S. in early October on a trip he described at the time as an effort to inform U.S. officials that Bedard was being harassed by Canadian officials because of her role as a whistleblower during the sponsorship scandal.

Last night, on the advice of her lawyer, Bedard did not discuss the reasons for her trip to the United States. She also steered clear of talking about why she was arrested. But she said the arrest was extremely difficult for her and her daughter.

"The arrest tore our family apart, coming on my own and my daughter's birthday," she said. "It was hard to calm her down when we weren't sure (what was going on ourselves)."

She bristled at suggestions Mazhari is controlling her. Some media reports have said he does not let her answer her cellphone.

"I live my life the way I choose,'' she said. "I have no restrictions on my life. I see whom I want, I call whom I want."

She said reports that her mother, father and sister are convinced Mazhari is a bad influence are hurtful.

"People should respect me as an adult. I'm 37, not 18 or 20. I have my private life. I have always been someone who made my own choices." Canadians have always been "offended when a family dictates to their daughter."

She said she did not think taking her daughter out of school for two months would be detrimental to the child's development. "She's always performed very well in school. Last year, she passed her Grade 6 exams despite being in Grade 5. I've been watching my daughter's schoolwork since she was in kindergarten. I was able to take her out (and teach her myself) temporarily and add another aspect to her life."

She said she was well-treated in prison even though she was chained, wore orange prison garb and could speak to Mazhari only through a glass partition. The reason for Mazhari and Bedard's trip to the United States was that they'd planned to contact influential Americans, such as U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, at his Washington office, and Virginia Senator John Warner.

Bedard did not explain how she is living with her daughter despite the conditions of her release by Quebec City authorities Jan. 5. They stipulated she not see her daughter unless in the company of Kim Ouimet, a mutual friend of Bedard and the girl's father, who was given sole custody of the girl.

A jury trial in Bedard's abduction case is set to begin April 2.