Local Amnesty group sends letters supporting Canadian arrested 15 years ago

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Human Rights Day, Amnesty Niagara Group 137 held a letter-writing campaign at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre.

Members Lidija Biro, Beatrice Campbell and JL Groux set up a table with carefully pre-written letters, envelopes and information about several human rights cases.

Of the 261 letters and cards signed on Tuesday, 56 of them were on behalf of Canadian Huseyin Celil, said Biro in a conversation with The Local.

According to Amnesty International, Huseyin Celil is a Muslim Uyghur and activist who has been imprisoned for more than 15 years. Celil was extradited to China after his arrest, at China’s request, in March 2006 during a family trip to Uzbekistan.

China has refused to recognize his Canadian citizenship, and he has been denied access to his family, a lawyer, and Canadian consular officials. He was last heard from in 2016, and his current condition is unknown.

On Tuesday, Group 137 also collected $160 in donations which “will help pay for postage,” said Biro, the environmental lead for the group.

Now members will turn their attention to plan an event for Earth Day 2025 (April 22) and coordinate with local environmental groups. They will also continue letter-writing at monthly meetings as Amnesty International (Canada) always has “urgent action” cases, said Biro.

Four new potential members approached Biro, who said the group would like to increase local membership. They’d especially like some members of younger generations. “We’d like to help raise awareness of human rights and social justice issues in order to create a more caring community for the future,” she said.

“Joining the group is super easy. Just come out to any of our meetings and participate in the discussion, planning, letter writing, etc.”

Amnesty Niagara Group 137 meets the first Tuesday of every month, 6:30 to 7:30 pm, in the café of the NOTL Community Centre.