By OMAR EL AKKAD

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – Two years ago yesterday, a Canadian citizen was arrested in Uzbekistan and was sent to China, where he was eventually sentenced to life in prison on terrorism allegations.

Today, Huseyin Celil’s whereabouts in China are unknown and Beijing refuses to tell Canadian Foreign Affairs officials where the imprisoned Canadian is being held, friends and family say.

Mr. Celil’s wife, his Canadian lawyer and Amnesty International jointly sent a letter to the Prime Minister yesterday – the second anniversary of Mr. Celil’s arrest – pleading for the Canadian government to intensify efforts on his behalf. Advocates for Mr. Celil are asking for a high-level Canadian envoy to lead those efforts.

“Prime Minister, we call on you to renew and fortify Canada’s efforts to ensure Mr. Celil’s human rights are protected,” the letter states. “We appreciated the concern and action demonstrated by the government in the past, including by you personally, but are concerned Canada’s attention to Mr. Celil’s fate appears to have waned.”

. . . CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE.

Short URL: http://tinyurl.com/yhlfbjo