Ethnic Uighur's life sentence blow to Sino-Canadian relations
Canada blasted China Thursday for sentencing a Canadian national to life in prison on terrorism and separatism charges at a closed trial, saying the verdict had soured relations between the two nations.
Huseyin Celil, 37, a Chinese-born ethnic Uighur, was sentenced to life in prison for "the crime of splitting the motherland" and involvement in terrorism, China's foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a briefing.
According to his wife in Canada, Celil was extradited from Uzbekistan to China during a trip in May 2006 where he vanished into Chinese custody. Canadian diplomats have since been trying to gain access to him.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay told reporters: "The stakes are very high for Mr. Celil and certainly this case has had a spillover impact on Canada's relationship with China."
In a statement, he said Ottawa "remains gravely concerned about allegations that Mr. Celil has been mistreated while in Chinese custody and possibly subjected to torture," accusing Beijing of a possible "serious breach" of the UN convention against torture.
The verdict comes ahead of a visit to China later this month by MacKay, during which he said he would raise the issue.
"It's been raised at the highest levels including the president of China and I certainly intend to pursue it when I arrive in China next week," he said outside Parliament. "We don't intend to let this case go."
"When it comes to human rights, when it comes to the rights of a Canadian citizen, we will stand tall for that citizen."
MacKay also chided Beijing for "persistently refusing to respond adequately to our concerns with respect to due process" for Celil and for failing to grant Canadian diplomats access to him "in spite of repeated requests."
"As we believe that China did not live up to the spirit of the 1999 Canada-China consular agreement in this case, we will be conducting a review of this agreement to determine whether it is, in fact, an effective means of safeguarding Chinese-Canadian dual citizens traveling on Canadian passports."
The minister said he registered his "deep disappointment" with the Chinese charge dÂ’affaires in Ottawa and told Celil's wife the Canadian government would continue to "pursue justice" for him.
"We strongly urge the Chinese authorities to respect their commitment to provide Canadian officials with information about Mr. Celil and to ensure that he is accorded due process," MacKay said.
Earlier, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "The case of Huseyin Celil is an internal affair and Canada has no right to interfere."
The diplomatic row is the latest in a series of bilateral irritants that have included talks between a senior Canadian official and the Dalai Lama, accusations that China is spying on Canadian corporations, Canada's failure to deport a Chinese fugitive who allegedly steered a multi-billion-dollar smuggling ring as well as stalled trade negotiations.
Celil fled China a decade ago and arrived in Canada in 2001 as a refugee and became a Canadian citizen.
He was arrested in Tashkent on March 27, 2006 while trying to renew a visitor's visa in the Uzbek capital.
His wife and four of his six children live in Burlington, Ontario. A friend told a local newspaper Celil was in Uzbekistan to try to get his other children out of China.
"He spoke about human rights," Celil's wife, Kamila Telendibaeva, told Canadian television network CTV on Thursday. She tearfully denied he was a terrorist.
Celil is a member of the Uighur ethnic group, many of whose members want to establish an independent nation.
China has stepped up pressure on Uighur Muslims in northwestern Xinjiang province since the September 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington that have fueled a US-led international effort to combat terrorism.
MacKay said Celil may still appeal the verdict. Meanwhile, Celil's family is hoping to gain greater access to him on humanitarian grounds, he said.
AFP
