China rejects appeal by jailed Uighur-Canadian

BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters) A court in western China has rejected an appeal by a Canadian citizen jailed in April for terrorism, the official Xinhua news agency said today.

Huseyin Celil -- an ethnic Uighur whose Canadian nationality China does not recognise -- was given a life sentence for ''terrorist activities and plotting to split the country,'' state media said.

Canada -- which regularly criticizes Beijing over its human rights record -- said Chinese authorities had not followed due process and failed to respect Celil's rights.

The court in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region in the remote northwest, found the ''facts were clear, evidence was reliable and adequate'' when the original sentence was given, Xinhua said.

''In accordance with Chinese law, Celil, 37, will serve life in prison and be deprived of his political rights for life, according to the court,'' the report added.

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 U.N. 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.

In Ottawa, Foreign Minister Peter Mackay said he was deeply disappointed to hear the appeal had been rejected.

''In our view, due process for this Canadian citizen was not followed and his rights were not respected,'' he said in a statement.

''Canada has strongly urged and will continue to urge Chinese authorities to immediately grant Canadian officials access to Mr.

Celil ... this case remains of great importance to the government of Canada.'' REUTERS SBC PM0000