China denies Canada access to jailed citizen

BEIJING, Apr 30 (Reuters) China is continuing to deny Canadian officials access to a Uighur-Canadian jailed earlier this month for terrorism, but Canada's foreign minister said today he had been told the man had not been mistreated.

Huseyin Celil was given a life sentence for ''terrorist activities and plotting to split the country'', state media said.

''I of course raised the case of Mr Celil and in particular expressed our deep disappointment that we have thus far been denied access to this Canadian citizen,'' Foreign Minister Peter MacKay told a news conference in Beijing.

MacKay said the Celil case had been one of the main talking points in a four-hour meeting with his new Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, adding that he was especially worried by allegations Celil had been tortured.

''He assured me this was not the case and that there had been no signs of torture or mistreatment of Mr Celil,'' MacKay said of what Yang had told him.

''He also advised me that Mr Yang had been treated in a humane fashion in conjunction with and compliance with international human rights standards,'' the minister added.

Celil's case is now under appeal.

Beijing accuses Uighur militants of using violence in their struggle to set up an independent East Turkestan state in predominantly Muslim Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and restive Central Asian states.

Celil, also known as Husein Dzhelil, fled China in the mid-1990s and sought asylum through the UN refugee office in Turkey, according to human rights body Amnesty International.

Canada accepted him as a refugee and he obtained citizenship there in November 2005, Amnesty said. But China considers Celil a Chinese citizen and has refused Canadian officials access to him.

Canada's Conservative government has frequently complained about China's human rights record. Last November, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Ottawa would not tone down its criticism to cash in on trade with the Asian superpower.

But China is also keen to get Canada to return Chinese businessman Lai Changxing, who fled in 1999 after being accused of running a huge smuggling ring.

In the latest twist to a long-running legal saga that has been a thorn in the side of China-Canada relations, Lai was given another chance to fight deportation by a Canadian judge in early April.

MacKay said Canada's government could not interfere in the legal system.

''There are numerous avenues of appeal that are often time-consuming, and it is, in my view, a symbol of a system that works. It's symbolic of the fact that we respect people's rights,'' he said.

But he suggested China had not been totally cooperative in handing over information related to the case.

''In order for Canada to be in line with the expectations that China may have, we need to be given accurate and timely information,'' the minister said, without elaborating.

REUTERS SS VC1448