2006/08/27

Detainee in China isn't aware of his new son

Detainee in China isn't aware of his new son

Ted Brellisford, the Hamilton Spectator

From left, Badrudin Celil watches his baby brother Zubayir as their mother, Kamila Telendibaeva, looks on.

By Christine Cox
The Hamilton Spectator
BURLINGTON (Aug 25, 2006)

Kamila Telendibaeva is thrilled with her newborn son, but wishes desperately that her husband, Huseyin Celil, could be there to share her joy.

Telendibaeva gave birth to the couple's fourth child Wednesday at McMaster University Medical Centre. Her husband is languishing in a jail in China, where authorities say he's on trial for terrorist activities. Celil is a political dissident who had championed the cause of the Muslim Uyghur people.

Canadian officials have not had access to him in China and Celil, 37, doesn't even know he's a father again. Telendibaeva said her son weighed 3.5 kilos and will be named Zubayir.

"I am very happy that he's healthy, he's normal, but I feel very sad that my husband wasn't there with me at the hospital," she said yesterday. "I was missing my husband."

She said her other three children are pleased their little brother is home "and are playing around the baby."

Telendibaeva hasn't seen her husband since last spring. He was arrested in Uzbekistan in March and subsequently extradited to China, although he was travelling on a Canadian passport.

Celil's lawyer, Chris MacLeod, is not sure if a trial has actually begun or not. He wonders if there was a translation error in a statement that suggested it was under way.

MacLeod said the Chinese would be breaching international obligations if they didn't tell Canadian officials what the charges were and that the trial had started. He continues to press for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to send a special envoy to Beijing to look into the Celil case.

"I think it's important," MacLeod said yesterday.

Ottawa says it has had an assurance that China will not seek the death penalty for Celil. His wife does not think he will be killed, but fears he may be tortured.

ccox@thespec.com

905-526-3323

2006/08/09

China denies imminent execution of Uighur-Canadian

WE HOPE THAT THIS NEWS IS TRUTHFUL OTHER THEN THE NEWS THAT CLAIMS HIS IMMEDIATE EXECUTION ON AUGUST 10



Reuters


Wednesday, August 09, 2006

BEIJING (Reuters) - China denied on Wednesday a report that it was about to execute a Uighur-Canadian activist it accuses of terrorism, saying his trial was not yet over.

China has waged a harsh campaign in recent years against what it says are violent separatists and Islamic extremists pressing for an independent nation of "East Turkestan" in its far-northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs account for 8 million of the 19 million people in Xinjiang.

Huseyincan Celil, who fled China in the 1990s, was due to be executed on or before Thursday for "separatist or terrorist activities," Amnesty International said in an emailed statement.

China accuses Huseyincan of taking part in a terrorist attack on a government delegation in Xinjiang in 2000 and of murdering a Uighur in Kyrgyzstan, an Uzbek news agency said in June.

Huseyincan, 37, was arrested in Uzbekistan in March and was extradited in June to China, which refused to recognize his Canadian citizenship obtained last year, London-based Amnesty said.

"Huseyincan is a Chinese citizen suspected of having taken part in East Turkestan terrorist activities," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"The case is being handled according to law and no verdict has been reached yet," he said in a prepared brief statement read to Reuters by telephone.

Canada has tried to obtain further information on Huseyincan's case from China but has been unsuccessful, Amnesty said.

China to execute Burlington man who championed Muslim state


By Christine Cox
The Hamilton Spectator
BURLINGTON (Aug 9, 2006)

Amnesty International fears that Huseyin Celil, a Burlington man held in a Chinese jail, could be executed by tomorrow.

The organization has unconfirmed reports that Celil, 37, will be put to death for alleged terrorist activities.

Celil's wife, Kamila Telendibaeva, clings to the belief that it can't happen. Celil's sister tearfully called from China last week saying a police officer had told her Celil would be killed Aug. 10, but Canadian officials told Telendibaeva that the Chinese government said it wasn't true.

Telendibaeva hasn't seen her husband since he was arrested in Uzbekistan while they were visiting her family. Celil, a political dissident who came to Canada as a refugee, was arrested on a warrant from China. He had been sentenced to death in absentia in China.

He had championed the cause of the Muslim Uygur people in northwest Xinjiang province, an area taken over by the Chinese more than 50 years ago.

Every day Telendibaeva's three children ask her "Where's Daddy?" Telendibaeva, who is due to give birth to her fourth child Aug. 20, tells them he is coming back soon.

In reality, she is very frightened for his safety.

"I hope and I pray for good news," the soft-spoken woman says as she sits on a sofa in her modestly furnished townhouse.

"I am thinking all the time about my husband."

She rejects the possibility that he could be executed, but she worries that the Chinese authorities may torture him or mistreat him in some way.

"They can give him some medicine, some injections," she said. "They can hurt him and he can lose his health."

What frustrates her most is the lack of information. The Canadian government does not know where he's being detained.

Ambra Dickie, a Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said yesterday there are ongoing communications between the Canadian government and the Chinese government regarding Celil. Canada has formally requested information on Celil's exact whereabouts and is seeking immediate consular access.

"We continue to make every effort to confirm Mr. Celil's well-being and to ensure he is afforded due process and that his rights are protected, she said. "Chinese authorities continue to maintain that they will not seek the death penalty."

Dickie said Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay is following the case very closely.

Telendibaeva's Hamilton lawyer, Chris MacLeod, said Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to send a special envoy to Beijing whose sole mission is to deal with the Celil case. MacLeod also thinks Canada should send a strong message by recalling its ambassador to China.

MacLeod said China has failed to meet its obligations under the Geneva Convention, including consular access, telling Canada what the charges are against Celil, and ensuring that there is a fair trial if the charges are legitimate.

Canada gave Celil refugee status to protect him from his persecutors, but now he's in their hands, the lawyer said. "They scooped him from a third country while he was travelling on a Canadian passport ... In light of China's track record, you cannot help but be concerned."

McMaster University professor John Colarusso considers Celil's chances of surviving are "pretty slim." Colarusso said the Uygur separatist movement is fairly strong in western China and China might execute Celil as an example, although that would make him a martyr for the Uygurs. Some countries don't care about Canadian passports if a person has dual citizenship, he said.

Telendibaeva said Celil doesn't have a Chinese passport because China doesn't give them to Uygurs, and that he did not know it would be dangerous to visit Uzbekistan.

Beth Berton-Hunter, an Amnesty International spokesperson, said the organization has put out an Urgent Action call.

It is urging human rights supporters everywhere to appeal to Chinese authorities on Celil's behalf, including faxing the ambassador to Canada, Lu Shumin (613-789-1911).

Amnesty International says the death penalty is used extensively and often arbitrarily in China.

At least 1,770 people were executed and 3,900 sentenced to death last year. Amnesty International has documented several cases of Uygurs being executed for alleged separatist or terrorist activities.

ccox@thespec.com

905-526-3323

Timeline

1998

1998 -- Huseyin Celil flees China for Uzbekistan and later Turkey.

2001 -- Huseyin Celil and his wife Kamila Telendibaeva arrive in Canada as political refugees.

2005 -- They receive Canadian citizenship.

March 27, 2006 -- Celil arrested in Uzbekistan.

June 2006 -- Celil quietly deported to China from Uzbekistan.

August 2006 -- Unconfirmed reports that Celil will be executed Aug. 10.

China to execute Canadian: human rights group


CTV.ca News Staff

A Canadian man held in a Chinese prison could be executed by Thursday, Amnesty International fears.

The organization has unconfirmed reports Huseyin Celil, of Burlington, Ont., will be put to death for alleged terrorist activities.

Celil, 37, was arrested in Uzbekistan in March and was extradited in June to China, which refused to recognize the Canadian citizenship he obtained last year, Amnesty International said.

The Chinese government on Wednesday denied Celil will be put to death by Thursday, claiming his trial is still not over.

Celil, a political dissident who fled China in the mid-1990s and came to Canada in 2001 as a refugee, has been sentenced to death in absentia in China.

According to reports, he championed the cause of the Muslim Uygur people in Xinjiang province, an area taken over by the Chinese government more than 50 years ago.

China accuses Celil of taking part in a terrorist attack on a government delegation in Xinjiang in 2000 and of murdering an Uygur in Kyrgyzstan, an Uzbek news agency reported in June.

"(Celil) is a Chinese citizen suspected of having taken part in East Turkestan terrorist activities," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters by telephone.

"The case is being handled according to law and no verdict has been reached yet."

Ambra Dickie, a Canadian foreign affairs spokesperson, said there are ongoing communications between the Canadian and Chinese government regarding Celil.

"We continue to make every effort to confirm Mr. Celil's well-being and to ensure he is afforded due process and that his rights are protected," Dickie told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

"Chinese authorities continue to maintain that they will not seek the death penalty."

Canada has formally requested information on Celil's exact whereabouts and is seeking immediate consular access.

Celil's wife, Kamila, has not seen her husband since he was arrested in March while they were visiting Uzbekistan.

She said every day their three children ask where he is.

An Amnesty International spokesperson said the organization has put out an Urgent Action call.

With files from The Canadian Press

China to kill Canuck?

We Pray For These Suspicious News Are Incorrect


China: Husein Dzhelil

(known as Huseyin Celil)
aged 37, Canadian citizen

Updated: 8 August 2006


Husein Dzhelil standing in front of the Canadian Parliament buildings, Ottawa, Ontario, May 2005.

According to unconfirmed reports, Canadian citizen Husein Dzhelil is due to be executed in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of northwest China, on or before 10 August, for alleged ‘separatist’ or ‘terrorist’ activities.

The news about his pending execution was passed on to his relatives in Kashgar in the XUAR by an unnamed police officer, according to whom he is held in Urumqi, the regional capital. He is believed to be held incommunicadoand is at high risk of torture or ill-treatment. Further details of his trial and conviction remain unclear.

Since Husein Dzhelil was forcibly returned to China, his family in Canada have been trying to find out his whereabouts and any charges against him but the Chinese authorities have refused to disclose this information. The Canadian authorities have also tried to obtain further information about his situation but this has apparently been unsuccessful.

Husein Dzhelil, 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 Dzhelil’s Canadian citizenship, which he gained in November 2005. According to his family, when Husein Dzhelil 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 Dzhelil to China, the Chinese and Uzbek leaders reaffirmed that cracking down on the so-called "three evil forces", including “ East Turkestan forces”, is the common interest 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.

TAKE ACTION:

Please send appeals to to arrive as quickly as possible, in Chinese, English, or your own language:

  • urging the authorities to stay the execution of Husein Dzhelil immediately;

  • calling on the authorities to provide full information about his whereabouts and state of health;

  • expressing deep concern that Husein Dzhelil appears to have been convicted and sentenced to death after an unfair trial;

  • urging the authorities to conduct a full and open review of the evidence and legal procedures used to convict and sentence Husein Dzhelil, and based on the outcome of that review, to either retry Husein Dzhelil in full accordance with international fair trial standards, or release him immediately and unconditionally;

  • reminding the authorities that Husein Dzhelil is a Canadian citizen and urging that he be given access to Canadian consular officials in China while he remains in detention.

WRITE TO:


Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China:

WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council
9 Xihuangcheng Genbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
Fax: + 86 10 6529345 or (c/o Ministry of Communication)
Email: gazette@mail.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency

Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional People's Government:

Ismail TILIWALDI Zhuxi
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
2 Zhongshanlu
Wulumuqishi 830041
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Email: master@xinjiang.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Chairman

President of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China:

XIAO Yang Yuanzhang
Supreme People’s Court
27 Dongjiao Minxiang
Beijingshi 100006
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65292345
Salutation: Dear President


COPIES TO:


Ambassador for the People's Republic of China:

His Excellency LU Shumin
515 St. Patrick Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 5H3
Fax: (613) 789-1911

Secretary of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional Party Committee:

WANG Lequan Shuji
Zhonggong Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Weiyuanhui
2 Jiankanglu
Wulumuqishi
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY