Detainee's wife takes heart as PM pushes China for answers

By Daniel Nolan | The Hamilton Spectator
November 21, 2006

Though it hasn't altered his plight, the wife and lawyer of a Burlington man held by China are taking comfort his imprisonment was raised in a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and China's president.

Chris MacLeod, lawyer for Huseyin Celil and his wife, Kamila Telendibaeva, said he didn't expect Harper's meeting with Hu Jintao in Hanoi on the weekend to immediately produce results, but he called it "a quantum shift" that the prime minister raised the situation.

"I'm absolutely pleased that he did," said MacLeod, who spoke to officials from the Prime Minister's Office yesterday. "I think the important message was that at the highest levels of this government, the Canadian government, this is a top priority.

"Nothing's changed, but I think the change is -- message sent, message received. I think China knows this is something that is a top priority and they need to deal with it to deal with Canada."

Celil, 37, has been in Chinese custody since the end of June. The father of six was accused of terrorist activities, but his family and friends say he's being persecuted because he's a member of the Uyghur minority group.

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