NDP calls for diplomatic delegation to secure Celil's release from China

OTTAWA –NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Alexa McDonough (Halifax) and NDP Human Rights Critic Wayne Marston (Hamilton - Stoney Creek) are calling on the Harper government to take immediate action to secure the release from China of Canadian citizen, Huseynin Celil.

“Canada must immediately intervene and provide a diplomatic show of force to ensure that Mr. Celil is released without further delay,” said McDonough. “Mr. Harper must immediately send his Parliamentary Secretary, Jason Kenney, to China to signal that Canada takes this case very seriously.”

“Mr. Kenney has previously signalled his willingness to go to China. If Canada is to succeed, Mr. Kenney must be part of a formal delegation that includes high-level diplomatic officials,” said Marston.

The Uzbekistan government had detained Mr. Celil since March but according to media reports, he was handed over to China sometime in the past two weeks after receiving assurances he would not face the death penalty there. Mr. Celil faces the death sentence in China after being tried in absentia for his work on behalf of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs and other government officials have repeatedly refused to comment on the grounds of ‘privacy’ except to say they are doing all they can,” said Marston. “A Canadian citizen has been deported to a country known to execute and torture prisoners. This is more than an issue of privacy. A Canadian citizen’s life is at stake, and it is clear that every possible avenue must be pursued to secure his release.

“We must immediately send a delegation to send the message: Canada will not stand aside while our citizens are deported and subjected to torture or worse, abroad.”

Nawaf Smadi and His Family's Contribution

Dear Nawaf Smadi and Family:

The Office of the Prime Minister has forwarded to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Peter G. MacKay, a copy of your email of April 10, 2006, in which you express concerns regarding the detention of Mr. Huseyincan Celil, in Uzbekistan.

I wish to assure you that officials of Foreign Affairs Canada in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in Moscow, Russia, and in Ottawa, are aware of Mr. Celil's case and have been working tirelessly towards a resolution. Officials are actively continuing their diplomatic efforts and are in regular communication with Mr. Celil's family.

The Consular Affairs Bureau is mandated by the Privacy Act, which prohibits the disclosure of personal information by a government department or agency unless the consent of the individual(s) who are the subject of the information has been obtained. Any personal information cannot be disclosed to unauthorized parties without the explicit consent of the individual(s) concerned.

As you can appreciate, the Canadian government has a legal obligation to safeguard the privacy of Canadian citizens. We would like to stress, however, that the Government of Canada is pursuing this matter very seriously in order to bring an end to Mr. Celil's detention in Uzbekistan.

Thank you for writing and taking the time to express your concerns.

Yours sincerely,




Janice Hayes
Director
Ministerial Correspondence Division

S. M. Tora's Contribution

Dear S. M. Tora:



The Office of the Prime Minister has forwarded to the Minister of

Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Peter G. MacKay, a copy of your email

of April 19, 2006, in which you express concerns regarding the

detention of Mr. Huseyincan Celil, in Uzbekistan.



I wish to assure you that officials of Foreign Affairs Canada in

Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in Moscow, Russia, and in Ottawa, are aware of

Mr. Celil's case and have been working tirelessly towards a

resolution. Officials are actively continuing their diplomatic efforts

and are in regular communication with Mr. Celil's family.



The Consular Affairs Bureau is mandated by the Privacy Act, which

prohibits the disclosure of personal information by a government

department or agency unless the consent of the individual(s) who are

the subject of the information has been obtained. Any personal

information cannot be disclosed to unauthorized parties without the

explicit consent of the individual(s) concerned.



As you can appreciate, the Canadian government has a legal obligation

to safeguard the privacy of Canadian citizens. We would like to

stress, however, that the Government of Canada is pursuing this matter

very seriously in order to bring an end to Mr. Celil's detention in

Uzbekistan.



Thank you for writing and taking the time to express your concerns.



Yours sincerely,









Janice Hayes

Director

Ministerial Correspondence Division

Sheikh Bilal's Contributions

Assalamu alikum,

May Allah Reward for trying your best to help Brother Huseyincan Celil. I just have two suggestions:

First, in your flyers and website you mention that China has an evilrecord of abuse, tortures, oppression and genocide. However, you dontmention the same for Uzbekistan. Usbekistan has a horrifiying historyof inhumane tortures and massacres especially under the current IslamKarimov's regime. In April, 2005 there was the massacre of Andijan ofhundreds of peaceful protestors. Muslims and ideas of Islam arecompletely supressed. Many are arrested without a crime, and aretortured and killed in prison. I have seen many pictures on theinternet of those BOILED alive. My point is that our Br. Huseyincan isin as much trouble in Uzbekistan as he is in China. Therefore thereshould be more pressure on the Canadian government to retrieve himimmediately.

Second, I noticed MP David Christopherson has a website, so in my emailto him, I requested that he post actions taken on his website. I couldnt find websites for Wayne Marston or Chris Charlton so Irequested that they send any updates of action taken tofreehcorg@gmail.com. My suggestion is that you should pressure them todo the same, and InshAllah they will act faster.

Bilal

hrw.org

Letter to Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
On the detainment of a Canadian citizen, Huseyincan Celil, by Uzbek authorities
The Honorable Peter MacKay Minister of Foreign Affairs 125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1A OG2 April 18, 2006 Dear Minister MacKay, We write to urge that your government take all possible steps to ensure that the Uzbek authorities immediately release Huseyincan Celil, a Canadian citizen, and permit him to return to his home in Canada. Both China and Kyrgyzstan have placed Mr. Celil’s name on an Interpol wanted list. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that if Uzbek authorities return him to either country, he would be arbitrarily arrested, tortured, denied due process, and harshly sentenced. An ethnic Uighur from China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Mr. Celil was originally detained in China in 1996 for advocating for the religious and political rights of his fellow Uighurs. His detention and treatment are part of a systematic policy of repression that prevents Uighurs from celebrating their cultural identity, expressing their religious beliefs, or articulating political differences such as a desire for an independent state or full autonomy within China. After he was conditionally released for medical reasons, Mr. Celil managed to escape to Kyrgyzstan. In 1998, he was imprisoned there for nine months and reportedly tortured. Mr. Celil went to Canada as a refugee in 2001 and became a citizen. Mr. Celil, his wife, and children traveled to Uzbekistan on their Canadian passports on February 6, 2006, in order to visit family. On March 26, when the family applied to extend their one-month visas, Mrs. Celil and the children were granted extensions but Mr. Celil was immediately taken into custody. Mrs. Celil has not been able to see him. It is our understanding that Canadian consular officials also have been denied access. The use of torture of detainees by law enforcement agents in Uzbekistan has been well-documented. Mr. Celil is at risk of mistreatment while in police custody there. Human Rights Watch calls your attention again to the dangers of returning suspects to countries that, even if diplomatic assurances are proffered, routinely torture or ill-treat suspects, and whose use of the death penalty is extensive. Given the abuses Mr. Celil has already endured in China, we are concerned about the treatment to which he may be subjected upon return there, including execution. Torture has long been a problem in Kyrgyzstan. Human Rights Watch continues to receive accounts of beatings and sexual assaults by police. We are further concerned that should Mr. Celil be returned to Kyrgyzstan, he would be at risk of deportation to China. We also remind you of the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen extradited by the U.S. to Syria, who once back in Canada reported in detail his extensive torture while in Syrian custody. Canada’s record as a staunch defender of human rights is well known and well respected, one of which Canada is deservedly proud. We ask that record be enhanced through your government’s unremitting efforts to secure Mr. Celil’s immediate release from Uzbek custody and for his prompt return to Canada. Sincerely, Brad Adams Executive Director Asia Division Human Rights Watch Jasmine Herlt Director Canada Office Human Rights Watch Cc: Christopher Westdal, Canadian Ambassador to Russia Robert Desjardins, Director General, Consular Affairs Bureau

Steve Ogilvie's Contribution

Hello,

I don't have any news articles, however on Mr. Celil's behalf, I did call the Canadian Consular in Uzbekistan requesting that they help a fellow Canadian.
I also called Foreign Affairs here in Ottawa and spoke to a man called Lindsey something... Once again requesting that FA help Mr. Celil.
I have also emailed the President of Uzbekistan and cc'd Minister McKay and PM Harper.

I hope that something small will help to make a difference.

Warm Regards,

Steve Ogilvie
Steven Ogilvie
7165 Gallagher RoadNorth
Gower, OntarioCANADA,
K0A 2T0

Phone: +1 613.258.4988Cell: +1 613.602.0014E-mail: sogilvie@msn.com ONE Voice, One Goal: To Fight Global AIDS & Poverty - Go to www.makepovertyhistory.ca or www.one.org Winston Churchill, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."Edward Everett Hale, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And what I can do, that I ought to do, I shall do."Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."Peter Benenson, "The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to prison, who were tortured, who were kidnapped, who ‘disappeared’. That is what the candle is for." Keep the light on human rights - go to www.amnesty.ca or www.amnestyusa.org