CANADIAN EXTRADITED FROM UZBEKISTAN FACES POSSIBLE DEATH PENALTY IN CHINA

Canadian citizen Huseyincan Celil was extradited from Uzbekistan to China where he may be executed for founding a political party to represent a minority ethnic group in Xinjiang province, Canada's foreign affairs spokeswoman Kim Girtel told AFP. Celil, 37, was sentenced to death in absentia in China for his human rights work on behalf of the Uighur people, according to Canadian media reports.
"We were advised by Uzbek authorities that he was extradited to China," Canada's foreign affairs spokeswoman Kim Girtel told AFP. "We're seeking confirmation from China that Mr. Celil is being detained there."
Celil fled China a decade ago, then came to Canada in 2001 as a refugee and became a Canadian citizen.
He was arrested in Tashkent in March while trying to renew a visitor's visa in the capital.