[wvns] China lets prisoner meet sister
In surprise move, China lets Celil meet sister
Imprisoned Canadian complained of lack of medical attention,
Uyghur-Canadian group leader says
OMAR EL AKKAD
January 4, 2008
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080104.CELIL04/TPStory/
In a rare event, Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil was allowed to meet
one of his family members last week, as he continues to serve a life
sentence in China.
One of Mr. Celil's sisters, Meryem, met with the imprisoned Canadian
for about 20 minutes, according to Mehmet Tohti, head of the Uyghur
Canadian Association. It was the first time he had talked to his
sister in 13 years, Mr. Tohti said. Mr. Celil was arrested in
Uzbekistan and handed over to China in 2006. He was travelling on a
Canadian passport at the time.
Chinese authorities accused him of terrorism and charged him with
engaging in violent separatist activities. In April, he was sentenced
to life in prison. In violation of international agreements, Beijing
has refused to grant Canadian officials access to him.
The Canadian's story garnered international headlines last year, but
Mr. Celil has largely disappeared from the news media spotlight since
he began serving his life sentence.
In his meeting with his sister, he complained of persistent kidney
problems, for which he has received no medical attention, Mr. Tohti
said.
Mr. Celil is currently serving his life sentence in Bajiahu prison in
northwest China. The prison has long been used to hold those accused
by Chinese officials of separatist activities, especially members of
the Muslim Uyghur minority.
Mr. Celil also revealed to his sister that his lawyer in Beijing has
about 30 pages of first-hand testimony that the prisoner was not
allowed to present during his Chinese court hearing, Mr. Tohti said.
The testimony would represent the first time Mr. Celil has given his
side of the story since his imprisonment in Uzbekistan and subsequent
deportation to China.
In his meeting last week, he asked that the testimony be transferred
from his Beijing lawyer, who has essentially exhausted all Mr. Celil's
legal avenues in China, to Canadian embassy officials.
Mr. Celil also asked his sister to plead with Canadian officials to
arrange a phone call between the prisoner and his wife in Burlington,
Ont., Mr. Tohti said. Mr. Celil has not seen or spoken to his wife
since he was arrested.
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