China Will Not Execute Uyghur Activist
November 21, 2006
The arrest of Huseyin Celil prompted protests this summer by the Uyghur minority in Kyrgyzstan (pictured here) and Uzbekistan (RFE/RL)
Andre Lemay, a spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, said the case of Huseyin Celil was brought up during a meeting between Canadian and Chinese officials on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held in Vietnam last week.
A 37-year-old Canadian-Uyghur, Celil was arrested in Uzbekistan in March while visiting relatives and was subsequently extradited to China.
Some reports say a Chinese court sentenced him to death, others that he was given a 15-year jail sentence.
Beijing claims Celil was involved in an armed attack in 2000 on a government delegation in the predominantly Muslim Xinjiang Region, home to China's Uyghur minority.
China also says Celil helped assassinate an Uyghur community leader in Kyrgyzstan.
(AFP, CBC News)