Canada condemns China for jailing man for life

OTTAWA, April 19 (Reuters) - Canada condemned China for jailing a Canadian citizen for life on Thursday and said it was concerned about allegations the man might have been tortured while in prison.

Huseyin (also referred to as Huseyincan) Celil, an ethnic Uighur activist, was imprisoned on charges of separatism and terrorism. China warned Canada not to get involved in what it described as a purely domestic matter.

"It is with deep disappointment that we learn that Mr. Celil has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chinese court," said Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, complaining Beijing repeatedly refused to let Canadian officials visit the man.

"The government of Canada remains gravely concerned about allegations that Mr. Celil has been mistreated while in Chinese custody and possibly subjected to torture. This could constitute a serious breach of the United Nations Convention against Torture, to which both Canada and China are parties."

MacKay is due to visit China later this month, where he plans to raise the case of Celil, 37.

A foreign ministry statement said MacKay had expressed his concerns with the Chinese embassy and had also spoken with Celil's wife -- who lives in Canada -- "to assure her that Canada will continue to pursue justice for Mr. Celil."

Canada's Conservative government has frequently complained about the Chinese 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.

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 fled China in the mid-1990s and was later accepted as a refugee in Canada, where he obtained citizenship. He was detained in Uzbekistan in March 2006 when visiting relatives and sent to China last June.