April 20, 2007
For Immediate Release
Wallace Addresses Huseyincan Celil Case

OTTAWA-Mike Wallace, Member of Parliament for Burlington, reacted yesterday to the news that a Chinese court has sentenced Huseyincan Celil to life in prison. Mr. Wallace has expressed his extreme disappointment with this verdict and has pledged to continue to work with Hon. Peter Mackay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Government officials working on this case.

“Chinese authorities have persistently refused to respond adequately to our concerns with respect to due process for this Canadian Citizen. They have also refused to allow us to provide consular assistance to Mr. Celil, in spite of repeated requests and this is totally unacceptable” said Wallace.

Mr. Wallace believes that China has not lived up to the spirit of the 1999 Canada-China consular agreement in this case, and supports the idea of a review of this agreement to determine whether it is, in fact, an effective means of safeguarding Chinese-Canadian dual citizens traveling on Canadian passports.

Wallace added that, “We strongly urge the Chinese authorities to respect their commitment to provide Canadian officials with information about Mr. Celil, and to ensure that he is accorded due process”.

Earlier this year Mike joined a special meeting of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs and International Development. The principal witness testifying before the committee was Mrs. Rebiya Kadeer, President of the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy foundation and nominee for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Wallace later addressed the House of Commons and guests including Mr. Celil’s spouse, Kamila Telendibaeva and Mrs. Kadeer inspiring a standing ovation.

Mike Wallace continues to follow the case closely and is in regular contact with the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning Mr. Celil. The Canadian Embassy in Beijing is also following the situation closely and will continue to monitor developments.

For further information please contact:

Jon. W. Watson, EA/ Legislative Assistant
Mike Wallace, MP Burlington
www.mikewallace.ca
E: wallam0@parl.gc.ca
T: 613 995 0881
F: 613 995 1091