Leak of China documents raises questions about imprisoned Canadian Huseyin Celil

OTTAWA — The emergence Sunday of a leaked Chinese government blueprint for imprisoning one million Muslim Uighurs in China’s western Xinjiang province is raising questions about a Canadian detainee.

Huseyin Celil, who settled in southern Ontario after becoming a Canadian citizen is a former Uighur activist who has been imprisoned in China for 13 years.

A spokesman for Global Affairs Canada said Monday the government is deeply concerned by Celil’s detention, as well as the human-rights situation for Muslim Uighurs and other minorities in China.

Department spokesman Guillaume Berube said Canada has publicly called on China to release all Uighurs arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang.