International Support for Uyghurs organized a closed workshop with notable human rights activists, advocacy organizations, and members of parliament to revitalize and coordinate the campaign to return Huseyin Celil to Canada. The guest speaker of the virtual meeting was Kamila Talendibaeva, the wife of Huseyin Celil, who urged participants to take action and called on Canada to prioritize the release of Celil from Beijing.

Huseyin Celil, a Uyghur Canadian, was visiting family in Uzbekistan when he was arrested and extradited to Beijing through the means of an Interpol Red Notice.

His crime: being an Uyghur human rights activist. It has been more than 15 years since his arrest, he has been tortured and treated inhumanely to a point that Canadian consular staff have not been able to receive access to him.

After a brief presentation on the facts surrounding Celil’s detention, participants broke out into small groups to brainstorm actionable next steps that could be implemented to obtain Celil’s release. At the end of the workshop, an action plan was developed including the publishing of a petition to be presented at the House of Commons dedicated to Huseyin Celil.

Finally, Talendibaeva thanked all the participants for their ideas and ISU for organizing the workshop.

More meetings are planned to continue making progress on the campaign to secure our fellow Canadian’s Huseyin Celil’s release from the grasps of the tyrannical regime in Beijing