April 3, 2008
No. 74
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement upon learning of a a Beijing court's sentencing of Chinese citizen Hu Jia to three and a half years in prison and one year of deprivation of political rights for "inciting subversion of state power":
"Canada learned with deep regret of Mr. Hu's sentence. He is well-known as a Buddhist activist and a human rights defender. His work to raise awareness and promote the rights of persons with HIV/AIDS and others has been int ernationally recognized.
"Freedom of expression and religion are universal human rights, and we note that China's constitution guarantees human rights for all its citizens. Cana da continues to urge China to release Mr. Hu, as we have consistently done since his detention last December."
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