A prominent human rights watchdog on Monday urged the Chinese government to put an end to the repression and arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in the country's northwestern Xinjiang region
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) A prominent human rights watchdog on Monday urged the Chinese government to put an end to the repression and arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in the country's northwestern Xinjiang region.
According to Amnesty International, the detentions have intensified since the adoption of the de-extremification regulation, with people facing persecution for displaying their religious and cultural affiliation, using messengers with encryption or traveling abroad to get education.
"The Chinese government must not be allowed to continue this vicious campaign against ethnic minorities in northwest China. Governments across the world must hold the Chinese authorities to account for the nightmare unfolding in the XUAR [Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region]," Amnesty International's East Asia Director Nicholas Bequelin was quoted as saying on the watchdog's website.
The watchdog added that those detained were sent to what the Chinese authorities call transformation-through-education camps without any trial or possibility to contest the decision, where they could be held in internment camps for months until the authorities decide that they have "transformed."
"The mass detention camps are places of brainwashing, torture and punishment. A simple act of messaging your family abroad can get you detained highlights how ludicrous, unjustified and completely arbitrary the Chinese authorities' actions are," Bequelin added.
Beijing has been repeatedly criticized for the reported discrimination of Uyghur Muslim minority and human rights violations. The Uyghurs tried to seek independence from China between 1930-40s, with the government introducing stricter security measures in recent years and justifying their actions by citing the fight against extremism.
