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Recent News Releases
210 August 2006
Husein Celil (known as
Huseyin Celil) (m), aged 37, Canadian citizen: Fear of
Imminent Execution
It is time for the Canadian government to take action
in a different way. Husein Celil has been in Chinese
custody since the end of June when he was extradited
from Uzbekistan.
According to unconfirmed reports, Canadian citizen
Husein Celil is to be executed in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region (XUAR) of northwest China for
alleged ‘separatist’ or ‘terrorist’ activities. Held
incommunicado, he is at high risk of torture or
ill-treatment.
Late on August 9, Chinese authorities denied Amnesty’s
report that Mr. Celil is about to be executed, and
issued a prepared statement indicating that “his case
is being handled according to law and no verdict has
been reached yet.” The statement is significant as it
is the first time in the past six weeks that the
Chinese authorities have acknowledged that Mr. Celil
is in their custody.
In order to prevent Celil’s execution, the Canadian
government must be involved at the highest level.
Stephen Harper must personally intervene with Hu
Jintao now to ensure Mr..Celil’s safety and well-being
as well as Canadian consular access.
Since Husein Celil was forcibly returned to China, the
Chinese authorities have refused to disclose to his
family in Canada his whereabouts and charges against
him. The Canadian authorities have also tried to
obtain further information about his situation but
this too has apparently been unsuccessful.
Husein Celil, who is originally from the XUAR,
reportedly fled China in the mid-1990s after being
detained in connection with his political activities
there. He eventually went to Turkey where he sought
asylum through the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR). He was recognised as a refugee
and resettled to Canada in 2001. He was detained on 27
March 2006 in Uzbekistan where he was visiting his
relatives, and handed over to the Chinese authorities
at the end of June. The Chinese authorities have
refused to recognize Husein Celil’s Canadian
citizenship, which he gained in November 2005.
According to his family, when Husein Celil was
extradited from Uzbekistan , the Uzbek authorities
kept his Canadian passport.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Over recent years, Amnesty International has monitored
growing numbers of forced returns of Uighurs to China
from several of its neighbouring countries, including
those of Central Asia , such as Uzbekistan . In some
recent cases, returnees are reported to have been
subjected to serious human rights violations,
including torture, unfair trials and even execution.
The Chinese authorities have been mounting a crackdown
on the “three evil forces” of “separatist, terrorist
and religious extremists” in the XUAR. It has resulted
in serious and widespread human rights violations
directed against the region’s Uighur community,
prompting many of them to flee the country. Many of
those who leave go to Central Asia. The plight of
Uighurs asylum seekers in Central Asia has, however,
worsened as these countries have strengthened their
economic, military and political cooperation with
China through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
In June this year, just prior to the SCO Council of
Heads of State meeting in Shanghai and the extradition
of Husein Celil to China, the Chinese and Uzbek
leaders reaffirmed that cracking down on the so-called
"three evil forces", including “ East Turkestan forces”,
is in the common interests of China and Uzbekistan.
The death penalty is used extensively and often
arbitrarily in China. Based on public reports
available, Amnesty International estimated that at
least 1,770 people were executed and 3,900 sentenced
to death in 2005. The true figures, which are
classified as a “state secret”, are believed to be
much higher. A Chinese legal expert was recently
quoted as stating that approximately 8,000 executions
are carried out in China each year. Over recent years,
Amnesty International has documented several case of
Uighurs being sentenced to death and executed in the
XUAR for alleged “separatist” or “terrorist”
activities.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send fresh appeals
urgently
- call on Stephen Harper to immediately intervene with
Hu Jintao in order to stay the execution of Husein
Celil;
- remind the Chinese authorities that Husein Celil is
a Canadian citizen and urge that he be given access to
Canadian consular officials in China while he remains
in detention.
- express deep concern that Husein Celil is not being
provided with a fair trial;
- urge the authorities to conduct a full and open
review of the evidence and legal procedures used to
try and convict Husein Celil, and based on the outcome
of that review, to either retry Husein Celil in full
accordance with international fair trial standards, or
release him immediately and unconditionally,
APPEALS TO:
His Excellency LU Shumin
Ambassador for the People's Republic of China
515 St. Patrick Street
Ottawa , Ontario K1N 5H3
Fax: (613) 789-1911
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street,
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2
Fax: (613) 941-6900
For further information please contact:
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter,
Media Relations (Toronto),
(416)363-9933 #32 ...
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