Conservative government must do more for Celil, says Alghabra

Mississauga - Omar Alghabra, Liberal Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Erindale, is calling on the Conservative government to heighten their efforts to guarantee the legal rights and safety of Husseyin Celil.

Mr. Celil, a Canadian citizen of Uyghur origin, was arrested in Uzbekistan in March during a family visit. He remained imprisoned until extradited to China at the end of June. Both the Canadian government and the Celil family have been denied access to Mr. Celil and have received very little information concerning his well being.  Further, there is a lack of transparency regarding his right to, and receipt of, a fair trial. 

"There has been very little indication that the safety of Mr. Celil is a high priority for the Conservative government," said Omar Alghabra. "This is a very serious matter and we expect our government to give it their utmost attention."

Today, Amnesty International, in concert with human rights organizations, Toronto Association for Democracy in China and Uyghur Canadian Association, also called on the Conservative government to ensure the protection of Mr. Celil and also requested tangible assurances that he will be treated fairly. If there is any evidence against Mr. Celil, he should be prosecuted in an open and objective court of law; otherwise, he should be released.

"The least Prime Minister Harper can do is to personally call the Chinese government and ask that a Canadian citizen be given his inalienable rights," said Alghabra. "The fact that Mr. Celil was granted refugee status in Canada recognizes that he was facing real and substantial fears and it is disturbing that our government could be abandoning him after offering him refuge."

Omar Alghabra and his colleagues in the Liberal caucus have been advocating for the protection of Mr. Celil's rights and have urged the Conservatives to do everything possible to ensure that he receives fair treatment or is released.