Canada angry at Uighur sentence

BBC News
20 April 2007

Canada has condemned the authorities in China for sentencing a Canadian Uighur rights activist to life imprisonment.

Huseyincan Celil was jailed for crimes of "splitting the motherland" and participating in terrorist groups, according to China's state media.

Celil, who was born in China but gained Canadian citizenship as a political refugee, was arrested in Uzbekistan and deported to China last year.

Canada said it was concerned about claims that Celil had been tortured.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said he was disappointed at the sentence and said the case had harmed relations between the two countries.

"The stakes are very high for Mr Celil, and certainly this case has had a spillover impact on Canada's relationship with China," Mr MacKay told reporters.

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