Huseyin Celil has been moved out of prison to house-arrest. We thank Jason Kenney for his support.

Huseyin Celil has been moved out of the regular solitary confinement to house-arrest in Tashkent. It is controlled by the Uzbeki apparatus. Canadian Consular staff and his mother-in-law met with him. He looked fine physically but he needed medicine for his ulcer.
April 29, 2006
Kyrgyzstan for the very first time, requested his extradition on bogus allegations. He was alleged to commit crimes at a time he was not even in the Continental Asia. We are hopeful that he will exonerate by means of alibi. If you think you have known Mr. Celil in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan or Turkey, please give us a call or write to us.

Celil's family, friends appeal to PM

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government says it is using "all possible diplomatic avenues," including appeals to other countries, to press for the release of Canadian Islamic religious leader Huseyin Celil from jail in Uzbekistan.
Celil, a political dissident who fled his homeland in the mid-1990s before coming to Canada as a refugee and getting citizenship, faces deportation to China and possible execution.
"It is outrageous that the Uzbeki authorities have detained Mr. Celil without any clear explanation as to why or what their interest is in him," the prime minister's parliamentary secretary, Jason Kenney, said Wednesday.
"It is totally unacceptable to the government that it took some three weeks after his initial detention for Uzbeki authorities to permit access by Canadian consular officials.
"We publicly call upon the Uzbekistani government to co-operate fully with Canadian consular officials, which is their international legal obligation."
The statement came after Celil's pregnant wife, Kamila Telendibaeva, held an emotional news conference along with Amnesty International at Parliament Hill on Wednesday, where she read a statement pleading for help.
"We came to Canada (because) we wanted peace and a home to raise our family," she said, stopping repeatedly to fight back tears. "In Canada, we thought that we could speak freely and express our fears.
"Now my husband is facing extradition to the very country he fled from. I ask you, please, don't let them return him to China. . . . I don't want my unborn child or my two boys to ask who their father was or why he can't come home."
The human rights group and 12 other non-governmental organizations have written Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to intervene personally to help Celil, who has championed the cause of the Uygur people, an ethnic Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang province.
Kenney said Ottawa is "preoccupied" with Celil's release and has dedicated a full-time consular official out of Moscow to press the case in Uzbekistan "with full vigour."
"We are looking at and using all possible diplomatic avenues to press for his release," Kenney said.
"We have been and will be engaging other countries to assist us in this matter because, quite frankly, Canada has a very modest official presence in the central Asian region. We don't have an embassy or even a consulate in Uzbekistan or in neighbouring countries."
The issue is close to Kenney's heart. He made a controversial departure from a Canadian trade mission in China last year to visit the family of a dissident. He said Wednesday that weaker people suffer continuing, systematic persecution in China, "which is precisely why Canada granted convention refugee status to Mr. Celil in the first place."
Supporters want Canada to ensure legal counsel for Celil.
Celil was arrested in Uzbekistan on March 27 when he tried to renew his visa while the couple and their children were visiting Telendibaeva's family. No charges have been laid.
Telendibaeva returned to Canada last weekend after she was repeatedly denied visits to see her husband in jail. He was apparently arrested on a warrant from China and a ruling ordering his execution.
Amnesty International fears Celil, who escaped prison in China once, will be sent back because of close ties between the two countries and mutual extradition treaties.

Wife of man arrested in Uzbekistan returns alone

Burlington man could be facing death`Canada needs to be very vocal': Lawyer
Apr. 24, 2006. 01:00 AM
NAOMI CARNIOL
STAFF REPORTER
Huseyincan Celil's Burlington townhouse is full of voices. The voices of friends, children and his wife. One voice is missing. His.
After the Canadian citizen's arrest in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent on March 27, his wife, Kamila Telendibaeva, visited Uzbeki authorities begging for his release before she returned to Canada on Friday evening.
Celil, a Burlington imam, was once imprisoned in China and Kyrgyzstan for working on behalf of the minority Uyghur population in China's northwest Xinjiang province.
His family fears he will be sent to China and killed.
China and Uzbekistan have strong ties. Both belong to the Shanghai Co-operation Organization and the leaders of both countries take a hard stance against political opposition.
The Uzbeki authorities were waiting to see if Celil's fingerprints matched those on file in China and Kyrgyzstan before deporting him. The prints have been matched, Telendibaeva said.
As far as she knows, her husband is still in Tashkent. She knows which detention centre he's being held at.
But the authorities wouldn't let her visit him. "I was allowed to send a letter," she said in Turkish through a translator.
She misses her husband. "We've been married for six and a half years and never had a major argument," she said.
The couple's recent trip was supposed to be a vacation. Telendibaeva hadn't seen her parents, who live in Uzbekistan, in more than six years.
The Celils and their three young children flew to Kyrgyzstan in February to see an ill relative of Telendibaeva's before heading to Uzbekistan. After a month in Tashkent, the family decided to extend their trip.
On March 23, Celil visited Uzbeki authorities to renew the family's visitors' visas. He was told to come back in five days.
On March 27, Celil left for the visa office with Telendibaeva's father and brother at noon. At 10 p.m., Telendibaeva's father and brother returned without Celil.
China re-activated Celil's file in 2002, the family's lawyer, Chris MacLeod said. By that time, Celil had already been living in Canada for a year.
He often led prayers at the Ebu Bekir Islamic Centre in Hamilton. He also gave lectures on religious topics. But he rarely spoke publicly about the struggles of the Uyghur people, his family and friends say.
Three of his children from an earlier marriage remain in China. He was worried if he spoke out they would be punished, MacLeod says.
From time to time, Celil spoke on the radio. Once he attended a conference in Ottawa. That seemed to be enough for China to re-open his file. "The risk of harm he faces in China ... is a direct result of exercising freedom of expression," MacLeod says. Canada needs to be very vocal to the Uzbeki authorities, he says.
Telendibaeva just wants her husband where he belongs, she says. In Burlington. On the chair next to her.

Brother Celil's Wife Returned

Yesterday around 06.30 pm, Mrs. Kamila Telendibaeva arrived in Toronto International Airport. A Group of her friends, Celil's family lawyer, and media were there to support Mr. Celil's Wife and her children.
As we understood, from her comments, that Brother Celil's situation remains same condition and the help of those who speak and claims for his safe return have not been showing up.

Canadian Government and Officials are being slow at this moment and media’s interests for this subject are not serious.

We pray for Brother Husyincan Celil for his safe return…

One of the regular Letter from President's Office yet...

Dear S.M. Tora:

On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to thank you for your e-mail, in which you raised an issue which fallswithin the portfolio of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister ofForeign Affairs. The Prime Minister always appreciates receiving mail on subjects of importance to Canadians.

Please be assured that the statements you made have been carefully reviewed. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your e-mail toMinister MacKay so that he too may be made aware of your comments. I am certain that the Minister will give your views every consideration. For more information on the Government's initiatives, you may wish tovisit the Prime Minister's Web site, at www.pm.gc.ca.

L.A. LavellExecutive Correspondence Officerfor the Prime Minister's OfficeAgent de correspondancede la haute directionpour le Cabinet du Premier ministre

Huseyin Celil's fingerprints matched

April 17, 2006
We have communicated with Mrs. Celil in Tashkent. She is on her way to Toronto, most probably will arrive on April 21. She could not get sufficient assistance from Canadian officials in Tashkent and she has indicated that Canadian diplomats change so often, neither she nor Consular affairs staff becomes familiar with each other or the case.We sincerely thank Amnesty International's kind efforts for the case. AI Canada brought the issue in front of the Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as other pertinent officials and institutions.We have received telephone calls from supporters from many locations across Canada. Despite the divergent locations we have received telephone calls, they most often converge on an issue as to whether there are levels of Canadian Citizenship -depending on race, ethnicity, place of birth or naturalized/citizen by birth. As advocates of the case, we thought it may be prudent to raise this question on our website. Because we do not really know if there are tiers of citizenship and different denotations. We have conducted a research on the citizenship issue on the Parliament website. It may help you better understand the concept. There are different accounts for the concept. The discussants could not deny existence of different tiers of citizenship. Mr. Lorne Waldman, an expert lawyer on immigration and citizenship has stated"I just want to say that the major concern I have about the legislation in general is what I see as a significant erosion in the rights of certain categories of citizens. We're going to create in Canada two classes of citizens: those who acquire citizenship by birth, either because they are born in Canada or they are born of Canadian parents, in which case they are immune from the revocation proceedings, and those who are naturalized."
April 19, 2006
We communicated with Mrs. Celil in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She stated that the fingerprints were matched with Kyrgyzstan and China. Further to that, she was informed that both China and Kyrgyzstan have requested Mr. Huseyin Celil be extradited to them. As we know, Uzbekistan requested an Interpol clearance on Huseyin Celil and China and Kyrgyzstan responded positively to the request.She said she was given some of the personal items such as her purse, credit cards and ID's for the children. The Consular staff in Tashkent helped her to get them back.
RFA Correspondent Kamil Tursun conveyed Rabeeya Kadeer's speech to us. She urged the Government of the United States to act immediately to save Huseyin Celil and other human rights activists. She also reiterated that China pressures even most democratic western societies to hand over political dissidents to China as in the case of Ismail Samad and possible Huseyin Celil. She emphasized that despite UNHCR's clear-cut guidelines and regulations, Uzbekistan does not follows the rules and bows to Chinese pressures. This also indicates that it is time to globally caution Uzbekistan for their non-UN-compliant activities and possible referral to UN Security Council where China also holds a permanent seat.
Morteza Jafarpour, SISO's Executive Director, emphasized their commitment to refugee and immigration issues as well as human rights activism. Therefore, he stated that they will help Mrs. Celil as much as possible such as translation services and transportation in Hamilton-Burlington area. He also stated that they are in close contact with Chris MacLeod.

We hope the same result for our Brother Huseyincan Celil

Canadians win freedom for Chinese dissident

After years of punishment for defacing Mao portrait, Lu 'grateful' to be here

ROD MICKLEBURGH

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER — Lu Decheng, who spent nine years in a Chinese jail for splotching the famous portrait of Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square, is safe and sound in Canada after Canadian authorities secured his release from a Thai detention centre.

The 43-year-old former bus driver, smiling broadly, was greeted upon his arrival at Vancouver International Airport yesterday by a relieved group of pro-democracy activists who had been at the forefront of efforts to bring him to Canada.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Lu said he was exhilarated to be in a country "with a civil society where I can breathe the air of freedom. I am very grateful."

Activists credited behind-the-scenes diplomacy by the federal Conservative government for winning Mr. Lu's freedom, after Thai officials, acting on pressure from China, kept him locked up despite the fact that he had a valid immigrant's visa to Canada.

"The government got involved and that was probably the reason he was released in such a short time," said Cheuk Kwan, chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China.

"It's a refreshing change [from the Liberals] to have a government putting emphasis on human rights over pure trade and business. They did a good job."

Mr. Lu was one of three boyhood friends who travelled from Hunan province to the mass student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The trio decided to make their own protest by hurling egg shells filled with coloured dye at Chairman Mao's huge portrait. But students quickly corralled the three young men and turned them over to police.

All were treated far more severely than any of the student protesters, receiving prison sentences from 16 years to life for "counter-revolutionary" activities.

Yu Dongyue, the last of the three to be released, was not freed until Feb. 22 this year. Family members have said he is now like a child, driven mad by years of solitary confinement and beatings.

Although he was paroled in 1998, Mr. Lu said Chinese authorities continued to hound him, making it impossible for him to earn a living.

He slipped out of China in late 2004, he explained yesterday, seeking to escape Chinese harassment and to publicize the prison plight of Mr. Yu.

"One of us had to get out and tell the world how the Communist regime treated us in prison," Mr. Lu said.

But when Chinese authorities learned that Canada had granted Mr. Lu refugee status earlier this year, they put pressure on Thailand to keep him in custody while seeking his return to China.

"China . . . does not have any so-called 'political refugees,' " a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry declared. "Lu Decheng left China in violation of Chinese laws."

Mr. Lu already had a March 14 plane ticket to Vancouver when the Chinese intervened and the date passed.

Now, he is free, on his way to Calgary to finally begin his new life in Canada.

The case was considered an early test of the Conservatives' pre-election pledge to place a greater emphasis on human rights in China than past Liberal governments have done.

Kim Girtel, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, shed few details on how Mr. Lu's release was arranged.

"We did see reports alleging that Mr. Lu was having difficulty exiting Thailand, and we communicated our concern to Thai authorities," she said, declining further comment.

Citing weariness from 22 hours of travel, Mr. Lu declined to go into a lot of detail about his youthful, anti-Maoist escapade. "It's a very long story, and my mind is kind of muddy right now."

But at one point, he smiled at the recollection of putting the oil-based dye into the egg shells.

"The worst thing was that it was not the Chinese police who caught us. It was the students who took us to the police," Mr. Lu said. "Of course, it was a very regretful incident."

Nearly 2000 Petition Letter to the President signed yet we need more...

Started by Friday with the help of our community, we have claimed that our concern on the issue is a prior. We have urged our brothers to sign a petition letter to the President. Our brothers who contributed in the distribution and organization have set an example of a strong character of our community, which has to be strong and dynamic. From Mississauga, Anatolia Islamic Centre to ISNA, Halton Mosque in Burlington, Downtown and Mountain Mosque, Ebu Bekir Islamic, Omar Mosque Centers in Hamilton petition letters were distributed.

However, we need more support from our community for our brother Celil. We have to take this issue seriously with a sincere concern.

Please try to urge and organize your community or friends to make this petition stronger.

Writing and sending a letter to the President is easiest and effortless thing with no cost-no need to stamp-.

You can find an example letter below or contact us we can send you a copy of the letter.

Beijing tightens control on Uyghurs

Analysis Diplomats fear Ontario man could be deported to China and executed.

Apr. 16, 2006. OLIVIA WARDFEATURE WRITER

China's spectacular northwestern region of Xinjiang is burgeoning. Its population has increased by 9 per cent in the past five years, and every month brings the announcement of another industrial mega-project.
But, experts say, Xinjiang's success conceals — and also contributes to — the underlying tensions between China and its population of Muslim Uyghurs, who have been denounced as dissidents, rebels and even terrorists.
Huseyincan Celil, a Burlington Muslim religious leader arrested March 26 in Uzbekistan after working for the rights of Xinjiang Uyghurs, is feared to be in danger of deportation to China, where he might face execution.
According to human rights groups, more than 190 Uyghurs (pronounced wee-girrs) have received the death penalty since 1995, and the total could be far higher. Celil has already been sentenced to death in absentia by a Chinese court for founding a political party that works for Uyghur rights.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says extensive research has revealed "a multi-tiered system of surveillance, control and suppression of religious activity aimed at Xinjiang's Uyghurs. At its most extreme, peaceful activists who practise their religion in a manner deemed unacceptable by state authorities or Chinese Communist party officials are arrested, tortured and at times executed."
Beijing has denied repressing the Uyghurs, and it insists that their rights and religion are respected. But since 1990, when a major Muslim uprising took place in Baren, northwest of Kashgar, China has tightened its control over the frontier territory. Tensions escalated again in 1997, when a peaceful protest near the Kazakhstan border was brutally suppressed and thousands of Uyghurs were arrested.
For years, the Chinese government kept ethnic problems quiet, in the face of Western criticism. But it reversed that policy dramatically after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States by Muslim extremists. A "strike hard" campaign to root out suspected separatists is ongoing, and China has announced that 1,000 Uyghurs were trained by Al Qaeda in a bid to link the 7 million-strong community with international terrorism.
Beijing also has denounced the "three evil forces" of separatist, terrorist and religious extremism" in Xinjiang and declared the East Turkestan Islamic Movement — named for the Uyghurs' title for their homeland, Eastern Turkestan — as a terrorist organization. Western analysts have pointed to "pockets of militancy" in the region, but most have concluded that these groups have little strength or influence.
Although Islam is one of the major religions officially permitted in China, human rights groups say a thicket of regulations and intrusive scrutiny by the Chinese authorities has made it difficult for Uyghurs to practise their faith, most often a moderate Sunni brand of Islam.
"China genuinely believes the Uyghurs are in league with Islamist groups," says a European businessman who has worked with Beijing for more than 10 years. "It is also convinced that countries like the United States are trying to undermine its economy by funding extremists. The government feels that an outbreak of terrorist attacks would put an end to new investments in Xinjiang."
Suspicions escalated after Washington established military bases in Central Asia to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda, writes Joshua Kurlantzick in the journal Foreign Affairs. "Xinjiang suddenly found itself at the centre of a battle between China, Russia and the United States for control of Central Asia."
China is well aware of the economic element of the struggle.
In spite of its jagged mountains, deserts and punishing climate, Xinjiang is potentially one of the wealthiest parts of China, which formally integrated it in 1884 — an event the Uyghurs never accepted.
But with its vast land mass, oil and gas deposits and mineral riches, China has kept Xinjiang from seceding with an iron hand.
Now, notes Christian Tyler in Wild West China: The Untold Story of a Frontier Land, Xinjiang is also a valuable prize for China's flagging Communist Party.
"Only too conscious of what happened in Soviet Russia, the Party will go to any lengths to maintain its control, and especially to control the natural resources of Xinjiang."
With the development of natural resources has come environmental devastation, along with the migration of millions of Han Chinese. They now officially represent 40 per cent of Xinjiang's population — but have been reported to outnumber the Uyghurs.
Writes Tyler: "The Han have the pick of the high-paid jobs; they can readily get the permits which allow them to run private businesses; they are treated preferentially when it comes to raising a bank loan; and they can obtain a city residency permit, while a Uyghur who may have lived in the city for years is refused."
Furthermore, says researcher Ben Carrdus of the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, "there are signs every day of consolidation of Chinese control. Huge amounts of money have gone into the extractive industries, and they haven't got it back yet. The idea is to fill Xinjiang with people and build a big tax base. But the Uyghurs get much less than their fair share of the benefits."
Since 2001, he says, China has also been strengthening its ties with neighbouring Central Asia under the umbrella of the Shanghai Co-Operation Organization — including despotic countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan that ruthlessly crack down on minorities and political dissidents.
Carrdus says Canadian fears that Celil may be removed to China are well founded: under the SCO charter, calling for "a new security concept anchored on mutual trust, disarmament and mutual security," Central Asian countries have allowed Beijing officials to remove suspects, without lengthy review procedures.
Pakistan, too, has co-operated with China by deporting suspected separatists and terrorists. According to Amnesty International, Ismail Semed, an ethnic Uyghur who was deported from Pakistan in 2003, "is at risk of imminent execution" after being sentenced to death on political charges.
Even before 2001, however, Pakistan bowed to Chinese pressure by expelling young Uyghurs studying at Pakistani colleges. Some were reportedly executed.
China has also asked the U.S. to turn over more than 20 Uyghur Chinese citizens held in Guantanamo Bay, but found to have "no intelligence value." The men were in legal limbo after Washington said it would not repatriate them, but other countries would not step forward to give them asylum. China has named them "East Turkestan terrorists" and continues to ask for them back.
Meanwhile, the fate of others in custody, like Canadian Celil, hangs in the balance.

Consul's brief visit raises faint hope for jailed imam

Canadian in Uzbekistan still faces deportationBig hurdles to save him from execution in China
Apr. 14, 2006. 01:00 AM

NAOMI CARNIOL
STAFF REPORTER

A Toronto-area Islamic religious leader whose arrest last month in Uzbekistan has caught the attention of international media and human rights groups is still languishing in a Tashkent prison, his wife said yesterday.
Huseyincan Celil, a Canadian citizen, has not yet been deported to China as feared, wife Kamila Celil said from Tashkent yesterday, after being briefed by the Canadian consular official. The imam faces a death sentence in China for his political activities on behalf of the minority Uighur population.
"They spoke for 20 minutes. After 20 days, they just allowed 20 minutes for the consul," a clearly distraught Kamila told the Toronto Star about what she believes was the first Canadian official to contact her husband.
Kamila said she was relieved to hear for the first time that her husband had not been sent to China, which is pressing for his return.
But she remains fearful her husband will be a political pawn between Uzbekistan and its powerful neighbour unless Canadian officials can intervene.
"I just want to get my husband out of here," she said. "I'm very sad and afraid for him."
Kamila said she still hasn't been allowed to speak to her husband. "They didn't give me access."
Moments later, the phone line went dead.
Kamila has been staying with relatives in Tashkent. Last week, their phone stopped making outgoing calls. Now it no longer takes incoming calls.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Kim Girtel confirmed that a consular official visited the detained Canadian, but said privacy concerns prevented her from giving details, despite pressing international concerns for his safety.
What will happen next is unclear, given the close relations between China and Uzbekistan.
Celil, a human rights activist, was once imprisoned in China for working on behalf of the Muslim Uighur community in China's northwest Xinjiang province. After escaping in 1998, he fled to Uzbekistan and later Turkey.
Celil and his family arrived in Canada as refugees in 2001, and settled in Hamilton before moving to Burlington last year.
Celil, who became a citizen last year, worried about the two sons and daughter he had to leave behind in China. So he went to Tashkent with his wife and three other children to try to reunite the family.
Uzbek police have not disclosed the charges against Celil, said Chris MacLeod, the family's lawyer in Canada.
Celil's name may have appeared on an Interpol arrest warrant, but an opposition MP worries that the imam is paying a heavy price for his political and religious beliefs.
"Where that arrest warrant is based on political dissidence, it's not the same thing as being convicted of a crime. It should not be respected," said Liberal MP Paul Szabo (Mississauga South), who raised the matter with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay in the House of Commons.
Canada doesn't even have an official embassy in the country, said Michael Lynk, an assistant law professor at the University of Western Ontario. And Uzbekistan recently closed down the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees there.
"I wouldn't want to be too discouraging, but the odds are considerable against him," Lynk said.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have asked Canadian officials to act quickly to secure Celil's release. His Canadian friends have launched a website to publicize his plight and to raise donations to hire a lawyer overseas.
And the Uyghur American Association has spoken with officials in the U.S. State Department to encourage their government to get involved, said the association's president, Nury Turkel.
Meanwhile, Kamila is trying to return to Canada "as soon as possible."
Five months pregnant and with three children younger than 7, "it's too hard" to travel alone, she said.
Canada has offered to issue her mother a temporary visa so that she can visit Canada, family friend Burhan Celik said from Ottawa.
But the mother needs an exit visa from Uzbekistan, and that hasn't come through, Celik said.

Friday Service Handout and A Letter to the Prime Minister Hon. Stephen Harper

We are trying to set up an action for this coming Friday Service (Jumah)...
There will be prepared letters for you to sign and print your name to send to the Prime Minister of Canada. We also included the letter's message below...
If anybody wants to help in distribution or printing for your local mosque or community centre you can contact us

The Letter




April 14, 2006


To: The Honourable Stephen Harper
House of Commons
Office of the Prime Minister80 Wellington StreetOttawa K1A 0A2pm@pm.gc.ca or harper.s@parl.gc.caFax: 613-941-6900 or 613-995-5176

Re: Mr. Huseyincan Celil
(A Canadian Citizen who is in detention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan since March 26, 2006)



Dear Mr. Harper,

As you know, a Canadian citizen, Huseyincan Celil, is still in detention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He is in danger of deportation to China where he will be most likely to be imprisoned, tortured, or eventually executed. We cannot let Uzbekistan or China to abuse, torture, or endanger the life of a Canadian citizen. We would not trust the justice system in these countries as they have a long record of Human Rights violations.

Canada is recognized as a peace loving country and a symbol of hope. We would like Mr. Huseyincan Celil to be freed, reunited with his family, and live peacefully again in Canada.

We urge your government to consider this matter as a priority and expedite a favorable resolution. We trust your government would deem this situation on the alert.

We look forward to hear from you soon


Yours sincerely,

__________________________

__________________________

Celil's handicapped son is in need of intensive care

His friends at Ebu Bekir Islamic Centre are worrying about his son who is in need of intensive care. His son, Muhammad, can not walk, talk and able to appricite his needs at all. There must be always an assistance required. In Canada Theese problems were much lesser with the help of social assitances. Below there is a letter from his friends at Ebu Bekir Islamic Centre that shows thier concern about this disregarded point, which is a touchy aspect of Huseyincan Celil's life.

The Letter;

Last Ramadan everyday in the Ramadan Nigt Prayings, I heard Husyincan(our imam in the salat) cry and ask Allah the healness and recover for our patient. I realized he has a very close and lovely one sick. Then, after I talked to him I understood what was behind his prayings and his cry all Ramadan.

In Burlington city there is a school that his child attends with two teachers taking care of him a half of a day, the rest of the day one of his parent must watch him so he needs help 24 hour in a day, he can't eat or raise his hand or go to washroom by himself he is almost totally paralyzed from doing anything by himself ( even he fails to control his saliva from his mouth), if you look at him you can't hold your tears.
I met him twice, I felt my heart broke, I astonished how his parents handled him all these years. He uses special medications continuously. His problems started from his birth, from that time he gave his parent (may all help them) extremely hard time. It is a test from Allah to their patient. They are really patient and sacrificed a lot. We worried about his mother, how she can handle this child alone, how can she cover very expensive medications for his handicapped child in addition to the responsibility of her other children, may Allah help her.

Urge Walmart to Pressure China

By Theresa Moore, HamiltonThe Hamilton Spectator(Apr 11, 2006)
Re: 'Extradition fight' (April 8)
Since it seems inevitable that Huseyincan Celil will face extradition to China, the most logical step is to request those with influence to bear upon the Chinese government for his freedom.
Wal-Mart is China's fifth largest trading partner. An e-mail, phone call and letter campaign to Wal-Mart executives requesting their intervention in this human rights case may be as effective as anything else.

Ebu Bekir Islamic Center is trying to help Huseyincan Celil

Ebu Bekir Islamic Center in East Hamilton where Huseyincan Celil used to be teach and obliged by his enormous effort. Plese visit there and provide your contribution

His only wish was Freedom

His only wish was to see his children and bring them to Canada to go in peace and live together as a whole family again.
On the other hand this longing was becoming unbearable because his long separation from his children. Not only was he suffering from longing but also his children’s close relations to their father were getting lessen. This great frustration was his nightmares, which was appearing to be natural conclusion of their situation.
Indeed, He was in hurry to get together yet He must have got together. However, how that he did not know? Everyday was another hardship for him. During the years without even a proper identification or protection, he was concealing himself with fear and alarm, which was not a case to get together with his children. He was dreaming final unite with his children but perhaps for another time…
Eventually, after staying some time in Turkey he managed to come to Canada as a refugee immigrant in October 2001, with a hope in his heart that was never ending. His wish could come true this time. The wish a father, who is like Huseyincan Celil, could only feel for its intense, severe emotion.
He was right to think that Canada would protect and help him in any way to respect his freedom and his family as well. Everything was going well truly Canada made contact to Beijing Embassy so quickly to bring his children. He was so happy that could never put in words. While his children were on their way, to Beijing to finish visa preparations He would not keep his emotions that His tears were noticeable this time from the joy and happiness of his wish finally was becoming alive.
He was so relieved to know Canada was there to comfort him after asking Canadian officials about Chinese would be so hard to deal with. Indeed Canada did bring him and his family with no travel document and claiming to bring his children with no worry as well in same situation. Without doubt, He trusted them for their honesty and contribution.
However, His children could not get their travel documents that made him worry of their present. Immediately the officials were there to help Huseyincan Celil to handle this issue over Chinese side. Day by day Celli’s confidence in Canadian negotiations over Chinese side to bring his children was diminishing. Thus, Chinese Regime was not like any others in the world. He was aware of this dilemma then anyone else.
Further, with a broken hearth and disappointment He started to write to politicians, human rights organizations and anybody who might be a help about the matter. He had never got tired to let them know his situation and kept writing his issues.
Any refugee from East Turkistan has the same crisis of Huseyincan Celil and any Uyghur descendant has no right to have own identification. Chinese Regime was there to make suffer them and use of their children present in their hand to trick and treat their parents in order to work for them and scare if not follow their orders. Additionally they would even call them where they immigrate and threaten them to over their children to be their secret agent (spy) and if they do not cooperate, they claim to torture and kill their family.
In was a severe pain in our hearts not to have chance to go back our own fatherland that we could spare our lives for its present. Our relatives, brothers, mothers, fathers, and families, our beloved ones there with no help and connection. Similar to Celil’s situations our father and family members are passing away without to see us for the last time.
For the second time he was having similar kind of happiness after he got his citizenship. Because, He was trusting in Canada that It is a great and strong country with its solid respect to human rights and freedom. He thought he was finally in safe and free.
Since, He could not go to his own country he could give a visit his wife’s country to see and join to his relatives to ease his endless longing and pain in his heart.
Nevertheless, a Uyghur, a man from East Turkistan with the one of the world’s greatest powers protection would not make difference for Chinese Regime, which is still humongous imperial (torturer and dictator) over the Middle Asian Countries even he is now from the country of freedom.
I, one of the closest friends of Huseyincan Celil, was the one who first contacted to foreign affairs departments about his detention in Uzbekistan who share the same destiny like him with my eldest son in the Chinese prisons for more then two years. My sons’ charge was the same Celil’s children that are being a Uyghur and East Turkistan descendant. I too did not see my own children for ten years that we all did what Celil did recently that could not bring any solution into our situation. Communist Chinese have done this suffer and torment for years and there is no help from nowhere. This was just another small example made by China, which will be disappearing in the near future, but we will never forget…

His close friend
Ghulam Yaghma
Visit his web site about East Turkistan
Dramatized by Free Huseyincan Celil Organization

Another web site on Huseyincan Celil Issue

We have another web site on the issue of saving Huseyincan Celil from Uzbek Prison...
Please visit and make contribution, get involved...

A PETITION TO LOCAL MP'S

Hamilton Downtown and Mountain Mosques are organizing a petition to deliver to local MP's... Hurry to sign your name on the list!

Steve Ogilvie's Contribution

Huseyincan Celil's Photos Updated

Extradition fight

Extradition fight

Huseyincan Celil
Rights groups fear for Burlington man held in Uzbekistan
By Marissa NelsonThe Hamilton Spectator(Apr 8, 2006)
Human rights agencies across the world are now fighting for a Burlington father of six who is in a jail in Uzbekistan and who may face execution if he's extradited to China.
Huseyincan Celil, 37, went to the central Asian country about two months ago, with his wife, Kamila, and three sons. They went to visit his wife's family and to see if he could get his other three children out of China, where he had to leave them.
Celil was a political dissident in China, his friends say, and fled fearing for his life. They say he's now been sentenced to death in absentia in China.
Celil eventually made his way to Turkey and then Canada as a refugee. He is a Canadian citizen and holds no other passport. He was arrested in Uzbekistan on March 26 and his wife hasn't heard from him since.
Celil, who recently moved to Burlington, has many friends in Hamilton and is well known at the Ebu Bekir Islamic Centre on Parkdale Avenue North, a largely Turkish centre.
Now, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and media around the world have caught on to the story.
Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, said it is very worried about Celil, because human rights abuses in Uzbekistan are widespread and serious.
"There's no doubt he's in grave risk," Neve said. "He could quite quickly find himself on an airplane without any fair hearing or appeals process."
Kim Girtel, of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, said staff cannot release much information because of privacy legislation, but did confirm they were aware of one Canadian detainee.
Burhan Celik, a friend of Celil's in Ottawa, said the police in Uzbekistan have now blocked the phone where Celil's wife is staying, so no one can call out of the country. Shortly after a TV crew went through the home, police marched in to ask what information was given. Celik said Kamila Celil is desperate because she's heard extradition is imminent.
"We might just hear that China executed another dissident, when we think he's still in Uzbekistan," Celik said. "We are running out of time. We might already have run out of time."
Celil's wife has met with staff from Canada's embassy in Moscow and Human Rights Watch. She's also looking at hiring a lawyer in Uzbekistan, which is bordered by Afghanistan, China and several other former Soviet republics.
Hamilton lawyer Chris MacLeod is representing the family here, though he still hasn't spoken to Celil. He knew the family previously and said he's doing everything he can to ensure Canadian officials have what they need.
Salohiddin Sidikou, vice-consul for Uzbekistan in New York City, recognized Celil's name immediately, but said he had no information about him.
"We don't have any information a Canadian has been detained," he said.
Sidikou, who reluctantly gave his name, wouldn't say if China and Uzbekistan have extradition agreements, saying that information isn't given out over the phone.
"You could write a letter and ask for it, then we will see what kind of organization you are," he said.
Abdullah Bayat, who knows the Celil family from the Hamilton mosque, said everyone is praying for his safe return.
"We are all praying for him, and pray he comes home with the children from China."
Bayat said Celil was "like a little child" when he became a Canadian citizen. "It was the first time he'd felt like he belonged somewhere."
Michael Lynk, an assistant law professor at the University of Western Ontario, pointed to the massacre of hundreds of people in Uzbekistan last May, when police fired on protesters.
"Uzbekistan and China have a common interest in wanting to watch, monitor and suppress the Islamic population," Lynk said. "Uzbekistan wouldn't have a problem with extraditing Mr. Celil based on the relationship they've forged."
He explained Celil is part of a very small minority in China called the Uygur people. China is exceptionally sensitive about the Uygurs' desire for independence. Virtually all Uygurs are Sunni Muslims -- a religion China monitors closely.
John Colarusso, a McMaster University professor, said when the Soviet Union split up, China settled many border disputes by extracting an agreement that the bordering countries wouldn't aid Uygur separatists.
"This will be a test to see how faithful Uzbekistan is to that," he said. "This guy is really caught in a web."
At best, he said, Celil's chances are 50-50 if there's significant Canadian pressure.
mnelson@thespec.com 905-526-2409

Deportation to China feared

Apr. 7, 2006. 06:42 AM
NAOMI CARNIOL
IN TORONTO
Michael Mainville

A Burlington Muslim religious leader arrested in Uzbekistan for his past political activities is a respected community figure who was trying to bring three of his six children to Canada, friends say.
Huseyincan Celil, a human rights activist jailed for working on behalf of the Uighur population in China's northwest Xinjiang province before his 1998 escape, was arrested last month while trying to renew his visitor's visa in the neighbouring Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
Family and friends of Celil, a Canadian citizen since last year, fear he will be deported to China, where they say he faces certain death.
Mustafa Agtas and Ibrahim Ozcelik say they're worried about the friend they describe as quiet and polite.
"He's never done a bad thing," Ozcelik said.
"He's a good guy," Agtas added. "He's not a criminal."
Both want Canadian officials to work faster at getting him released. "Canada has a strong government. If they want to help, I think he will be saved," Agtas said.
Friends say Uzbek authorities have also taken the passports of Celil's wife Kamila and their three other children — all Canadian citizens — who are in Tashkent working for his release.
Celil's wife is frantic.
"China wants to take him," she said by telephone. "He can't go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him."
Celil, 37, was sentenced in absentia to death by a Chinese court for founding a political party to work for the rights of the Uighur people.
Alexander Antonov, Canada's honorary consul in Tashkent, confirmed Celil is being held in an Uzbek prison.
"The reasons for his detention are still unclear," Antonov said. "We have not met with the detainee yet and we have no information from official sources regarding him. We hope to see him in the coming days."
Celil and his family, who arrived in Canada as refugees in 2001, settled in Hamilton where he became active in the Muslim community. The family moved to Burlington last year.
The imam often led prayers at the Hamilton mosque. "He has a beautiful voice," Ozcelik said. "When he talks you listen."
Celil also taught children at the mosque, Agtas added.
Although Celil started a new life in Canada, he often worried about the two sons and daughter he had to leave when fleeing China, Agtas said. "Some nights he couldn't sleep."
So Celil travelled with his wife and other three children to Tashkent last month in the hopes of reuniting with the rest of the family.
His wife insists Celil's only hope is a swift return to Canada.
"The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan," she said. Dismissing Uzbek reassurances that Celil will not be returned to China, she said: "We are afraid, because we don't believe them. We are very afraid about that."
She has not been allowed to speak with her husband since his arrest. "They didn't allow it," she said.
According to friends in Canada, her telephone has been cut off and she can no longer make outgoing calls.

Michael Mainville is the Star's stringer in Russia.

CANADIAN PRESS: Canadian In Uzbekistan Said To Face Execution

Canadian man detained in Uzbekistan faces execution if surrendered to his native China because of his former career as a political dissident, a family friend said Tuesday. Huseyincan Celil has been held since March 26 in the capital city of Tashkent, said Seyit Aydogan, who fears the Uzbekistan government will hand Celil over to Chinese officials. "Uzbekistan intends to repatriate him to China where he will face a definite execution because of his past political activities," said Aydogan. "Celil holds only a Canadian passport. He denounced his Chinese citizenship." Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Kim Girtel confirmed Tuesday that a Canadian citizen is being detained in Uzbekistan. "We are in touch with the next-of-kin and we are providing consular assistance," said Girtel, who could not confirm the detained person's identity due to privacy regulations. Celil's wife and three children, all Canadian citizens who have lived in Hamilton, since 2002, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, awaiting news of his condition, said Aydogan. "They can come back, but she wants her husband," he said. The family hasn't had any contact with Celil during his detention, Aydogan added. Celil was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uygur population in western China when he was arrested and tortured there, said Aydogan. Celil escaped from prison, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee. The family has lived in Hamilton since 2002. Celil became a Canadian citizen "three or four months ago," said Aydogan.

Uzbekistan arrests Canadian national wanted by China: wife

Posted on April 05, 2006

A political dissident from China who is now a Canadian citizen has been arrested in the Central Asian state of Uzbekistan and could face extradition to China, his wife said.
AFPWed Apr 5, 11:24 AM ET

Wed Apr 5, 11:24 AM ET
TASHKENT (AFP) - A political dissident from China who is now a Canadian citizen has been arrested in the Central Asian state of Uzbekistan and could face extradition to China, his wife said. Huseyincan Celil, 37, an ethnic Uighur from western China, was arrested on March 27 in Tashkent, Komila Telindiyeva told AFP.
"We came to Uzbekistan to visit my parents who live here. Ten days ago we went to the police office to extend our Uzbek visa and there the police arrested my husband," Telindiyeva said.
Matthew Meyer, an official from Canada's embassy to Moscow, which also covers Central Asia, said: "The embassy is of course aware of the case... Canadian consular officials are working to resolve the matter."
Telindiyeva said she had not been able to see her husband since his arrest and police told her that he was arrested because "China and Kyrgyzstan want his arrest through Interpol."
Celil campaigned as a political activist fighting for the rights of the mostly Muslim population of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China and had to flee to Kyrgyzstan in 1996 to escape prison, his wife said.
China has long been criticised by human rights advocates for violating the rights of the native Uighur people in western China under the pretext of clamping down on religious extremism and a separatist rebellion.
Celil was tried in Kyrgyzstan for criticising Chinese policy on the Uighur population but was then acquitted, Telindiyeva said.
He and his wife live in Hamilton, eastern Canada, where Celil was given refugee status in 2002. Telindiyeva said Celil was given Canadian citizenship "three or four months ago."

UNDATED: CANADIAN RISKS DEPORTATION TO CHINA

The wife of a Canadian man from Ontario says he's under arrest in Uzbekistan and risks deportation to his native China. The wife of 39-year-old Huseyincan Celil says that if the Uzbek government returns him to his native China, he'll be executed as a political dissident. Jamile Celil has appealed to the Canadian government to save her husband. On Tuesday, the Canadian foreign affairs department confirmed that a Canadian was under arrest in Tashkent and that the person's family has received consular assistance. His family says that Mr. Celil was an advocate of the rights of the ethnic Uighur people in the Autonomous Uighur Region of western China and that he fled China to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He, his wife and three children are now Canadian citizens. Mrs. Celil says all five of them were visiting relatives in Tashkent when he was arrested in a government office while trying to extend his visa.

Wife of Canadian detained in Uzbekistan makes desperate plea for helpBy: The Canadian Press

at 20:25 on April 5, 2006, EST.

(CP) - The wife of an Ontario man detained in Uzbekistan urged the Canadian government Wednesday to save her husband from possible deportation to China, where she fears he faces execution as a political dissident.
Kamila Celil has not been allowed to speak with husband Huseyincan Celil, both of Burlington, Ont., since he was arrested on March 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. "China wants to take him. He can't go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him," Celil said in a phone interview from Tashkent.
"The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan."
A letter outlining Celil's plight has been sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, New Democrat Leader Jack Layton, and several other officials, said Burhan Celik, an Ottawa-area man working on Celil's behalf.
Celik, who began making calls to the government last Friday, said a consular official told him there may be bilateral agreements between Uzbekistan and China that supersede any protection Celil's Canadian passport could offer.
Foreign Affairs acknowledged that a Canadian citizen was being detained, and that the family has been granted consular assistance, but cited privacy laws in declining to provide specifics on the case.
"We are in touch with the wife, who is the next of kin," said spokeswoman Kim Girtel.
"I can assure you that everything that is possible to be done is being done."
While the family has spoken with consular officials, Celil said they were able to offer little information on her husband.
"I have been in the consulate in Tashkent, but they didn't see (my husband) and they didn't talk with him yet," Celil said.
"(The Uzbekistan government) said they will not send (him) to China, but we are afraid because we don't believe them. We are very afraid about that."
The family says Huseyincan Celil, 37, was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province, in northwestern China, when he was arrested there and tortured.
Authorities in Beijing view the region as a potential powder keg of separatist sentiment fuelled by the Uighurs, who are Muslim.
Celil escaped from prison in 1998, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He became a Canadian citizen late last year.
His wife and three of his children, all Canadian citizens who have lived since 2002 in Burlington, some 60 kilometres west of Toronto, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, who are awaiting news of his condition.
Two of the children were born in Canada, while the third was born in Turkey.
Celil also has three other children that he was forced to leave behind when he fled China, said Seyit Aydogan, a Hamilton man helping alert the media to his friend's plight.
Celil travelled to Tashkent last month in the hopes of reuniting his family, Aydogan said.
He was renewing his visitor's visa on March 26 at a government office in Tashkent when he was arrested, his wife said.
"I couldn't talk with him; they didn't allow it," she said before pleading: "Please help me."
In a report published last month, the United Nations found that torture by authorities remains common in China. A UN investigator based his findings on visits to detention centres in Beijing, Tibet and Xinjiang province in late 2005.
Uzbekistan, a former republic of the Soviet Union, is a close ally of Beijing.

We are trying to gather all media news about Huseyincan Celil
Please contribute and send us via email your updates and concerns to freehcorg@gmail.com

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ANKARA, 7 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - This week in Central Asia, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday criticised Germany’s decision not to launch an investigation into Uzbekistan’s former interior minister, Zokirjon Almatov, for alleged crimes against humanity during an uprising in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan last May. German law allows prosecution of cases of torture and crimes against humanity regardless of where they were committed and the nationality of the perpetrators and victims. But in this case, federal prosecutors have refused to proceed on the basis that the Uzbek government would not cooperate with an investigation given its record of serious human rights abuses. The European Union (EU) imposed a visa ban against 12 top Uzbek officials it considers responsible for the Andijan crackdown, with Almatov at the top of the list. However, Almatov sought medical treatment in Germany and was granted a visa, a few days before the ban came into force. Eight Uzbek victims, accompanied by HRW, submitted the complaint and will challenge Berlin’s decision. Turkmenistan signed an energy agreement with China on Monday on the construction of a gas pipeline between the two countries, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Tuesday. According to the agreement, signed in Beijing, Turkmenistan will supply China, a rapidly growing economy , with 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas every year for 30 years, beginning in 2009. Turkmenistan has the fourth largest reserves of natural gas in the world. At the meeting, Turkmenistan’s Niyazov and his counterpart Hu Jintao also discussed cooperation in fighting terrorism and Chinese investment in Turkmenistan, RFE/RL reported. The US has pledged to give the former Soviet republic US $450,000 to help combat drug trafficking and improve security, English Politics News reported. Washington has sought cooperation on security issues with Turkmenistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan. The country will also be given additional US funds to help develop the justice system, maritime security and English language training projects.An ethnic
Uighur political dissident from China, with Canadian citizenship, was arrested in the Uzbek capital on 27 March, AFP reported on Wednesday.The man was a political activist in China and fled the country in 1996. Beijing has been widely criticised for its poor human rights record in its eastern autonomous region of Xinjiang Uighur. He was given refugee status in Canada in 2002, but was in Uzbekistan to visit his parents who live in the former Soviet country. He now faces possible extradition to China, RFE/RL reported on Wednesday.

There are other news agencies below

These are the other news groups that you can find similar reports on them.
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Canadian in Uzbekistan said to face execution

Canadian in Uzbekistan said to face execution

Ferghana.Ru, Canadian Press, 05.04.2006A Canadian man detained in Uzbekistan faces execution if surrendered to his native China because of his former career as a political dissident, a family friend said Tuesday.Huseyincan Celil has been held since March 26 in the capital city of Tashkent, said Seyit Aydogan, who fears the Uzbekistan government will hand Celil over to Chinese officials."Uzbekistan intends to repatriate him to China where he will face a definite execution because of his past political activities," said Aydogan."Celil holds only a Canadian passport. He denounced his Chinese citizenship."Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Kim Girtel confirmed Tuesday that a Canadian citizen is being detained in Uzbekistan."We are in touch with the next-of-kin and we are providing consular assistance," said Girtel, who could not confirm the detained person's identity due to privacy regulations.Celil's wife and three children, all Canadian citizens who have lived in Hamilton, since 2002, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, awaiting news of his condition, said Aydogan."They can come back, but she wants her husband," he said.The family hasn't had any contact with Celil during his detention, Aydogan added.Celil was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uygur population in western China when he was arrested and tortured there, said Aydogan.Celil escaped from prison, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee.The family has lived in Hamilton since 2002.Celil became a Canadian citizen "three or four months ago," said Aydogan.
Wednesday , 05 April 2006

Friday Service Handout

HELP OUR BROTHER
HUSEYINCAN CELIL TO RELEASE!

ONLY WE CAN MAKE DIFFERENCE

Brth. Huseyincan Celil is in need of our help
and It is our duty to help as much as we can possibly…
He was the Imam of the Ebu Bekr Mosque in East Downtown of Hamilton
Please try to contact your local MP and other government deparments to protect our brother

SEND YOUR LETTERS, CALL THEM OR EMAIL THEM WITH YOUR CONCERNS

Department of Foreign Affairs
Hon. Peter Gordon Mackay

Tel: 1 800 267-8376 (toll-free in Canada)(613) 944-4000 (in the National Capital Region and outside Canada)(613) 944-9136 (TTY)
Fax: (613) 996-9709
Enquiries Service (SXCI)Foreign Affairs Canada125 Sussex DriveOttawa, ON, Canada K1A 0G2
Email: enqserv@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Mike Wallace, MP of Burlington
Email: Wallace.m@part.gc.ca
Burlington Mall, Suite 209
777 Guelph Line
Burlington L7R 3N2
Tel: 905.639.5757
Fax: 905.639.1091
763 Confederations
House of Commons
Ottowa K1A OA6
Tel: 613.995.0881
Fax: 613.995.1091

Wayne Marston – Hamilton East
Parliament Hill:
37 West Block, House Of CommonsOttawa, ON K1A 0A6Tel: 613-992-6535Fax: 613-992-7764marstw@parl.gc.caConstituency: 40 Centennial Parkway North, Unit 2Hamilton, ON, L8E 1H6Tel: 905-662-4763Fax: 905-662-2285marstw1@parl.gc.ca

Chris Charlton – Hamilton Mountain
Parliament Hill:129 West Block, House of CommonsOttawa, ON K1A OA6
Tel: 905-995-9389
Fax: 905-992-7802Charlc@parl.gc.ca
Constituency: 845 Upper James Street, Unit 230BHamilton, ON L9C 3A3
Tel: 905-574-3331

David Christopherson – Hamilton Downtown
Parliament Hill:House of CommonsOttawa,
ON K1A OA6Tel: (613) 995-1757
Fax: (613) 992-8356chrisd@parl.gc.cahamilton@davidchristopherson.ca
Constituency: 22 Tisdale Avenue South Hamilton,
ON L8N 2V9
Tel: (905) 526-0770
Fax: (905) 526-9943

Canuck at risk

Canuck at risk
by CP

TORONTO -- A Canadian man detained in Uzbekistan faces execution if surrendered to his native China because of his former career as a political dissident, a family friend said yesterday.
Huseyincan Celil has been held since March 26 in the capital city of Tashkent, said Seyit Aydogan, who fears the Uzbekistan government will hand Celil over to Chinese officials.
"Uzbekistan intends to repatriate him to China where he will face a definite execution because of his past political activities," said Aydogan. "Celil holds only a Canadian passport. He denounced his Chinese citizenship."
Foreign Affairs spokesman Kim Girtel confirmed yesterday that a Canadian citizen is being detained in Uzbekistan.

Canadian in Uzbek jail

Canadian in Uzbek jail
By Gregory Bonnell, The Canadian Press
Wife of detained Hamilton man makes desperate plea for help

The wife of an Ontario man detained in Uzbekistan urged the Canadian government Wednesday to save her husband from possible deportation to China where she fears he faces execution as a political dissident.
Jamile Celil has not been allowed to speak with husband Huseyincan Celil, both residents of Hamilton, since he was arrested on March 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“China wants to take him. He can’t go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him,” Celil said in a phone interview from Tashkent.
“The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan.”
On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs confirmed that a Canadian citizen was being detained in the capital city of Tashkent and that the family has been granted consular assistance.

But while the family has spoken with consular officials, Celil said they were able to offer little information on her husband.
“I have been in the consulate in Tashkent, but they didn’t see (my husband) and they didn’t talk with him yet,” said Celil.
“(The Uzbekistan government) said they will not send (him) to China, but we are afraid because we don’t believe them. We are very afraid about that.”
The family says Huseyincan Celil was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province, in northwestern China, when he was arrested and tortured there.
Authorities in Beijing view the region as a potential powder keg of separatist sentiment fuelled by the Uighurs, who are Muslim.
Celil escaped from prison, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He became a Canadian citizen late last year.
His wife and three of his children, all Canadian citizens who have lived in Hamilton since 2002, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, who are awaiting news of his condition. Celil also has three other children that he was forced to leave behind when he fled China, said Seyit Aydogan, a Hamilton resident who alerted the media to his friend’s plight.
Celil travelled to Tashkent last month in the hopes of reuniting his family, said Aydogan.
He was renewing his visitor’s visa on March 26 at a government office in Tashkent when he was arrested, his wife said.
“I couldn’t talk with him, they didn’t allow it,” she said before adding the plaintive plea: “Please help me.”
In a report published last month, the United Nations found that torture by authorities remains commonplace in China. A UN investigator based his findings on visits to detention centres in Beijing, Tibet and the Xinjiang province in late 2005.
Uzbekistan, a former republic of the Soviet Union, is a close ally of Beijing.

Wife begs feds to fight deportation

Thu, April 6, 2006
Wife begs feds to fight deportation
By CP

TORONTO -- The wife of an Ontario man detained in Uzbekistan urged the Canadian government yesterday to save her husband from possible deportation to China, where she fears he faces execution as a political dissident.
Kamila Celil has not been allowed to speak with husband Huseyincan Celil, both of Burlington, Ont., since he was arrested March 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
"China wants to take him. He can't go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him," Celil said. "The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan."
Foreign Affairs admitted a Canadian citizen was being de-tained, and that the family has been granted consular assistance, but cited privacy laws in declining to provide specifics on the case.
"We are in touch with the wife, who is the next-of-kin," said spokeswoman Kim Girtel. "I can assure you that everything that is possible to be done is being done."
While the family has spoken with consular officials, Celil said they were able to offer little information on her husband.
"I have been in the consulate in Tashkent, but they didn't see (my husband) and they didn't talk with him yet," Celil said.
"(The Uzbekistan government) said they will not send (him) to China, but we are afraid because we don't believe them. We are very afraid about that."
The family says Huseyincan Celil, 37, was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province, in northwestern China, when he was arrested there and tortured.
Celil escaped from prison in 1998, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He became a Canadian citizen late last year.

Anxiety grows for jailed father

Anxiety grows for jailed father

Wife fears husband will be killed in China
By Marissa NelsonThe Hamilton Spectator(Apr 7, 2006)

A Burlington father of six, who helped lead Friday prayers at a Hamilton mosque, is now in jail in the central Asian republic of Uzbekistan, his pregnant wife worried he will be shipped to China and killed.
Huseyincan Celil, 37, was raised in eastern Turkistan -- the most westerly region of China invaded by that country more than 50 years ago.
There, Celil was a political dissident advocating for independence and democracy for the Uygur people. For that political involvement, his friends say he was sentenced to death in absentia.
Those same friends now fear he'll be returned to China by Uzbekistan and killed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa would only confirm that a Canadian national is being held in an Uzbekistan jail. Kim Girtel said officials are in contact with the detainee's next of kin but couldn't provide details because of privacy legislation.
"We are providing consular service," she said.
Canada has an honorary consulate in Uzbekistan, but it falls under the jurisdiction of the Moscow embassy.
"Everything possible is being done to ensure the person's safety and a positive outcome," Girtel said. She wouldn't say whether anyone has seen Celil.
Celil, who lives near Brant Street and Plains Road East, went to Uzbekistan with his wife, Kamila, and three sons about two months ago to visit his wife's family. He also has three children he left behind in China.
Burhan Celik, a close friend of the family and a political science graduate student at Carleton University, said Celil was told by Canadian officials they couldn't help get the three Chinese children out of that country, but would recognize them if they were out of China.
Celik says part of the reason for the trip was to try to get his other three children out of China, which won't recognize his parental rights. But he was arrested when he went to renew his visitor's visa March 26 in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.
Celik says his friend has lived an incredible life, enduring much to get to this country.
Celil reportedly ran away from China to save his life. He first fled to Kyrgyzstan, a part of the former Soviet Union.
"He passed through the mountains. It took between one and two months," Celik said. "He was running for his life."
Celil, in Kyrgyzstan illegally, was caught. While he was in prison, China asked for him to be returned. Celil was acquitted by a Kyrgyzstan court and was about to be released, but China pressured officials and he was held for nine months.
Celik isn't sure how he eventually got out -- whether he escaped, bribed the guards or was released -- but he did and fled to Uzbekistan, another part of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
From there, he and his wife fled to Turkey "on foot or sometimes by horse and cart," Celik said. "When you long to save your life, you'll do anything."
Celil sought asylum and was given status under the Geneva Convention. Canada recognized him and allowed Celil, his wife and young son to resettle as refugees in this country in 2001.
The couple has since had two more sons, with another child on the way. Celil, his wife, and their three children are all Canadian citizens.
The son they brought to Canada is severely handicapped and needs 24-hour care. Celil's wife was pregnant when they fled to Turkey, Celik said.
Celik, who has spoken to Celil's wife, said embassy staff met her and have scheduled another meeting today, but she hasn't seen her husband.
"No one has spoken to him," Celik said.
He fears Uzbekistan's government will give in to Chinese pressure to return Celil.
mnelson@thespec.com
905-526-2409

Canadian in Uzbekistan said to face execution

Canadian in Uzbekistan said to face execution
Updated Tue. Apr. 4 2006 11:26 PM ET

Canadian Press
TORONTO — A Canadian man detained in Uzbekistan faces execution if surrendered to his native China because of his former career as a political dissident, a family friend said Tuesday.
Huseyincan Celil has been held since March 26 in the capital city of Tashkent, said Seyit Aydogan, who fears the Uzbekistan government will hand Celil over to Chinese officials.
"Uzbekistan intends to repatriate him to China where he will face a definite execution because of his past political activities," said Aydogan.
"Celil holds only a Canadian passport. He denounced his Chinese citizenship."
Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Kim Girtel confirmed Tuesday that a Canadian citizen is being detained in Uzbekistan.
"We are in touch with the next-of-kin and we are providing consular assistance," said Girtel, who could not confirm the detained person's identity due to privacy regulations.
Celil's wife and three children, all Canadian citizens who have lived in Hamilton, since 2002, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, awaiting news of his condition, said Aydogan.
"They can come back, but she wants her husband," he said.
The family hasn't had any contact with Celil during his detention, Aydogan added.
Celil was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uygur population in western China when he was arrested and tortured there, said Aydogan.
Celil escaped from prison, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee.
The family has lived in Hamilton since 2002.
Celil became a Canadian citizen "three or four months ago," said Aydogan.

Wife of Canadian held in Uzbekistan pleads for help

Wife of Canadian held in Uzbekistan pleads for help
Apr. 5, 2006. 06:26 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
The wife of an Ontario man detained in Uzbekistan urged the Canadian government Wednesday to save her husband from possible deportation to China where she fears he faces execution as a political dissident.
Kamila Celil has not been allowed to speak with husband Huseyincan Celil, both residents of Hamilton, since he was arrested on March 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“China wants to take him. He can’t go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him,” Celil said in a phone interview from Tashkent.
“The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan.”
On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs confirmed that a Canadian citizen was being detained in the capital city of Tashkent and that the family has been granted consular assistance.
But while the family has spoken with consular officials, Celil said they were able to offer little information on her husband.
“I have been in the consulate in Tashkent, but they didn’t see (my husband) and they didn’t talk with him yet,” said Celil.
“(The Uzbekistan government) said they will not send (him) to China, but we are afraid because we don’t believe them. We are very afraid about that.”
The family says Huseyincan Celil was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province, in northwestern China, when he was arrested and tortured there.
Authorities in Beijing view the region as a potential powder keg of separatist sentiment fuelled by the Uighurs, who are Muslim.
Celil escaped from prison, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He became a Canadian citizen late last year.
His wife and three of his children, all Canadian citizens who have lived in Hamilton since 2002, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, who are awaiting news of his condition.
Celil also has three other children that he was forced to leave behind when he fled China, said Seyit Aydogan, a Hamilton resident who alerted the media to his friend’s plight.
Celil travelled to Tashkent last month in the hopes of reuniting his family, said Aydogan.
He was renewing his visitor’s visa on March 26 at a government office in Tashkent when he was arrested, his wife said.
“I couldn’t talk with him, they didn’t allow it,” she said before adding the plaintive plea: “Please help me.”
In a report published last month, the United Nations found that torture by authorities remains commonplace in China. A UN investigator based his findings on visits to detention centres in Beijing, Tibet and the Xinjiang province in late 2005.
Uzbekistan, a former republic of the Soviet Union, is a close ally of Beijing.

Deportation to China feared

Deportation to China feared
Apr. 7, 2006. 06:42 AM
NAOMI CARNIOL
IN TORONTO

Michael Mainville

A Burlington Muslim religious leader arrested in Uzbekistan for his past political activities is a respected community figure who was trying to bring three of his six children to Canada, friends say.
Huseyincan Celil, a human rights activist jailed for working on behalf of the Uighur population in China's northwest Xinjiang province before his 1998 escape, was arrested last month while trying to renew his visitor's visa in the neighbouring Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
Family and friends of Celil, a Canadian citizen since last year, fear he will be deported to China, where they say he faces certain death.
Mustafa Agtas and Ibrahim Ozcelik say they're worried about the friend they describe as quiet and polite.
"He's never done a bad thing," Ozcelik said.
"He's a good guy," Agtas added. "He's not a criminal."
Both want Canadian officials to work faster at getting him released. "Canada has a strong government. If they want to help, I think he will be saved," Agtas said.
Friends say Uzbek authorities have also taken the passports of Celil's wife Kamila and their three other children — all Canadian citizens — who are in Tashkent working for his release.
Celil's wife is frantic.
"China wants to take him," she said by telephone. "He can't go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him."
Celil, 37, was sentenced in absentia to death by a Chinese court for founding a political party to work for the rights of the Uighur people.
Alexander Antonov, Canada's honorary consul in Tashkent, confirmed Celil is being held in an Uzbek prison.
"The reasons for his detention are still unclear," Antonov said. "We have not met with the detainee yet and we have no information from official sources regarding him. We hope to see him in the coming days."
Celil and his family, who arrived in Canada as refugees in 2001, settled in Hamilton where he became active in the Muslim community. The family moved to Burlington last year.
The imam often led prayers at the Hamilton mosque. "He has a beautiful voice," Ozcelik said. "When he talks you listen."
Celil also taught children at the mosque, Agtas added.
Although Celil started a new life in Canada, he often worried about the two sons and daughter he had to leave when fleeing China, Agtas said. "Some nights he couldn't sleep."
So Celil travelled with his wife and other three children to Tashkent last month in the hopes of reuniting with the rest of the family.
His wife insists Celil's only hope is a swift return to Canada.
"The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan," she said. Dismissing Uzbek reassurances that Celil will not be returned to China, she said: "We are afraid, because we don't believe them. We are very afraid about that."
She has not been allowed to speak with her husband since his arrest. "They didn't allow it," she said.
According to friends in Canada, her telephone has been cut off and she can no longer make outgoing calls.

Help man held in Uzbekistan, Ottawa urged

Help man held in Uzbekistan, Ottawa urged
Apr. 6, 2006. 01:00 AM

The wife of a Burlington man detained in Uzbekistan urged Canada yesterday to save her husband from possible deportation to China, where she fears he faces execution as a political dissident.
Kamila Celil has not been allowed to speak with her husband Huseyincan Celil since he was arrested March 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
"China wants to take him. He can't go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him," Celil said in a phone interview from Tashkent. She said that while officials in Uzbekistan have said they will not send her husband to China, "we are afraid because we don't believe them."
The family says Huseyincan Celil, 37, was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province, in northwest China, when he was arrested and tortured. He escaped from prison in 1998 and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He became a Canadian citizen last year.
A letter outlining Celil's plight has been sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and others in Parliament, said Burhan Celik, an Ottawa-area man working on Celil's behalf.
Celik, who began making calls to the government last Friday, said a consular official told him there may be bilateral agreements between Uzbekistan and China that supersede any protection Celil's Canadian passport could offer.
Foreign Affairs acknowledged that a Canadian citizen was being detained, and that the family has been granted consular assistance, but also cited privacy laws.
Celil, who travelled to Tashkent last month to reunite with his family, was renewing his visitor's visa on March 26 at a government office in Tashkent when he was arrested, his wife said.
Canadian Press

Wife of Canadian detained in Uzbekistan makes plea for help

Wife of Canadian detained in Uzbekistan makes plea for help

Gregory Bonnell,
Canadian PressPublished: April 6, 2006

The wife of an Ontario man detained in Uzbekistan urged the Canadian government Wednesday to save her husband from possible deportation to China, where she fears he faces execution as a political dissident.
Kamila Celil has not been allowed to speak with husband Huseyincan Celil, both of Burlington, Ont., since he was arrested on March 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. "China wants to take him. He can't go to China, because they will arrest and they will kill him," Celil said in a phone interview from Tashkent.
"The Canadian government has to take him from Uzbekistan."
A letter outlining Celil's plight has been sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, New Democrat Leader Jack Layton, and several other officials, said Burhan Celik, an Ottawa-area man working on Celil's behalf.
Celik, who began making calls to the government last Friday, said a consular official told him there may be bilateral agreements between Uzbekistan and China that supersede any protection Celil's Canadian passport could offer.
Foreign Affairs acknowledged that a Canadian citizen was being detained, and that the family has been granted consular assistance, but cited privacy laws in declining to provide specifics on the case.
"We are in touch with the wife, who is the next of kin," said spokeswoman Kim Girtel.
"I can assure you that everything that is possible to be done is being done."
While the family has spoken with consular officials, Celil said they were able to offer little information on her husband.
"I have been in the consulate in Tashkent, but they didn't see (my husband) and they didn't talk with him yet," Celil said.
"(The Uzbekistan government) said they will not send (him) to China, but we are afraid because we don't believe them. We are very afraid about that."
The family says Huseyincan Celil, 37, was a political activist fighting for the rights of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province, in northwestern China, when he was arrested there and tortured.
Authorities in Beijing view the region as a potential powder keg of separatist sentiment fuelled by the Uighurs, who are Muslim.
Celil escaped from prison in 1998, and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. He became a Canadian citizen late last year.
His wife and three of his children, all Canadian citizens who have lived since 2002 in Burlington, some 60 kilometres west of Toronto, were in Tashkent when he was taken and remain there with relatives, who are awaiting news of his condition.
Two of the children were born in Canada, while the third was born in Turkey.
Celil also has three other children that he was forced to leave behind when he fled China, said Seyit Aydogan, a Hamilton man helping alert the media to his friend's plight.


Wife of Canadian detained in Uzbekistan makes plea for help

Gregory Bonnell, Canadian PressPublished: April 6, 2006


Celil travelled to Tashkent last month in the hopes of reuniting his family, Aydogan said.
He was renewing his visitor's visa on March 26 at a government office in Tashkent when he was arrested, his wife said.
"I couldn't talk with him; they didn't allow it," she said before pleading: "Please help me."
In a report published last month, the United Nations found that torture by authorities remains common in China. A UN investigator based his findings on visits to detention centres in Beijing, Tibet and Xinjiang province in late 2005.
Uzbekistan, a former republic of the Soviet Union, is a close ally of Beijing.
© The Canadian Press 2006

Uzbekistan arrests Canadian national wanted by China: wife

YAHOO NEWS

Wed Apr 5, 11:24 AM ET

TASHKENT (AFP) - A political dissident from China who is now a Canadian citizen has been arrested in the Central Asian state of Uzbekistan and could face extradition to China, his wife said.
Huseyincan Celil, 37, an ethnic Uighur from western China, was arrested on March 27 in Tashkent, Komila Telindiyeva told AFP.
"We came to Uzbekistan to visit my parents who live here. Ten days ago we went to the police office to extend our Uzbek visa and there the police arrested my husband," Telindiyeva said.
Matthew Meyer, an official from Canada's embassy to Moscow, which also covers Central Asia, said: "The embassy is of course aware of the case... Canadian consular officials are working to resolve the matter."
Telindiyeva said she had not been able to see her husband since his arrest and police told her that he was arrested because "China and Kyrgyzstan want his arrest through Interpol."
Celil campaigned as a political activist fighting for the rights of the mostly Muslim population of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China and had to flee to Kyrgyzstan in 1996 to escape prison, his wife said.
China has long been criticised by human rights advocates for violating the rights of the native Uighur people in western China under the pretext of clamping down on religious extremism and a separatist rebellion.
Celil was tried in Kyrgyzstan for criticising Chinese policy on the Uighur population but was then acquitted, Telindiyeva said.
He and his wife live in Hamilton, eastern Canada, where Celil was given refugee status in 2002. Telindiyeva said Celil was given Canadian citizenship "three or four months ago."