{"id":2438,"date":"2016-02-05T01:55:43","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T01:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iuhrdf.org\/en\/2016\/02\/05\/wife-burlington-man-jailed-china-urges-canada-fight-his-release\/"},"modified":"2016-02-05T01:55:43","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T01:55:43","slug":"wife-burlington-man-jailed-china-urges-canada-fight-his-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wife-burlington-man-jailed-china-urges-canada-fight-his-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Wife of Burlington man jailed in China urges Canada to fight for his release"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mother of four welcomes news China has reduced her husband\u2019s life sentence to 20 years, but says it doesn\u2019t go far enough.<\/p>\n

By: Debra Black 
Immigration Reporter
Published on Wed Feb 03 2016<\/div>\n
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The wife of a Burlington man serving a life sentence in China after being accused of terrorism greeted news her husband\u2019s sentence has been reduced with relief on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But she insisted now is the time for the Canadian government to intervene and get her husband released and sent back to Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m happy to hear that news from China,\u201d said Kamila Telendibaeva, who has been separated from her husband Huseyin Celil<\/a> for 10 years since his arrest in March 2006.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBut I say it\u2019s time for the Canadian government to do more now \u2026 Mr. Trudeau, he should do something. I\u2019m expecting more from the Canadian government. It\u2019s shameful,\u201d she told the Star.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Celil, a Uighur human rights activist who fled China to come to Canada in the 1990s as a refugee, was one of 11 prisoners in the far-western region of Xinjiang who had their sentences reduced, according to the state news agency Xinhua.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMy crimes caused serious damage to my country, Xinjiang, my family and children that can never be made up for,\u201d the news agency reported Celil as saying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Celil\u2019s apparent apology did not surprise his wife.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMaybe \u2026 they forced him to apologize. I understand because he has been 10 years in prison and especially the Chinese prison. It\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Telendibaeva said.<\/p>\n

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According to the Chinese news agency, Celil\u2019s sentence has been cut from life to 20 years. He has already served 10 years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI have had no contact with him since 2006,\u201d said Telendibaeva. \u201cHuseyin, as a Canadian citizen and a human being, he\u2019s missing a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The couple has four children<\/a>, the youngest of whom has never seen his father.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As to Celil\u2019s health and state of mind, Telendibaeva has tried to contact his sister, who she believes visits him in prison, but whenever she calls the phone line goes dead, she said.<\/p>\n

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\"HuseyinCelil has not received any Canadian consular assistance, she said. The Chinese government rejects his Canadian citizenship, saying he is a Chinese citizen who belongs to the Uighur minority group in China. And so Chinese officials refused and continue to refuse to allow any Canadian consular visits. The lack of Canadian consular assistance is especially troubling for Telendibaeva.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said the Canadian government hasn\u2019t pushed the Chinese government hard enough to get access to her husband. At the very least, Canadian officials should be visiting Celil\u2019s sister in China to find out his condition and how often she gets to see him, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As to what happens next, Telendibaeva isn\u2019t sure. She rejects the idea of a prison transfer, saying her husband has not done anything wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s innocent,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want him freed. Release him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last month Telendibaeva was part of an Amnesty International Canada<\/a> news event in Ottawa with Alex Neve, its secretary general, and Mohamed Fahmy, a former Al Jazeera journalist who was released from prison in Egypt in September, demanding Canada do more to protect the interests of imprisoned Canadians abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Celil was arrested while visiting relatives in Uzbekistan. He was eventually handed over to Chinese authorities, who accused him of being a terrorist and sentenced him to life in prison.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Telendibaeva said the Chinese government said her husband was leader of a Uighur rights group and was a member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which wants to establish an independent state called East Turkestan for the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority in China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Amnesty International Canada would not comment on or confirm the reduction in Celil\u2019s prison sentence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uighur Congress exile group, called the commutations a “political propaganda tool” meant to divert attention from Beijing’s repressive policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ottawa is seeking official confirmation of the commutation of Celil\u2019s sentence, said Fran\u00e7ois Lasalle, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMr. Huseyin Celil\u2019s case remains important to the government of Canada and continues to be raised at senior levels,\u201d said Lasalle. \u201cWe continue to call upon the Chinese government to permit Canadian officials to conduct a consular visit to monitor Mr. Celil\u2019s well-being. Our goal is to ensure that Mr. Celil is safe and treated fairly, in accordance with international norms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With files from The Canadian Press<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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