Uighurs are imprisoned in China for such everyday behavior
According to media reports, Uighurs in China face draconian punishments for everyday behavior. As reported by the German media NDR, WDR, Deutsche Welle and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” on Monday, citing an internal Chinese government document, members of the Muslim minority in China can be arrested for trifles such as wearing a beard or headscarf.
Accordingly, the document contains personal data of more than 2000 people.
According to human rights activists, around one million Uighurs are arbitrarily detained in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. According to the media, the government document, which was leaked to NDR, WDR, Deutscher Welle and “Süddeutscher Zeitung”, shows in an unprecedented manner the criteria used to put people in the internment camps. A selection of cases from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” shows a terrifying picture.
A few examples (cited from Süddeutscher Zeitung):
- Case 1: «1. His wife used to wear a veil. 2. Has four children more than allowed. »
- Case 4: “He is a worrying person from the generation born in the 1980s.”
- Case 560: “Has grown a beard and wears shorts, evidence of Wahhabi thoughts.”
- Case 568: “A worrying person from the generation born in the 1990s. He didn’t open his restaurant normally during Ramadan. »
- Case 597: «1. She applied for a passport without leaving the country. 2. She gave birth to two children too many. »
- Case 666: “Has had business relationships with sensitive countries four times.”
The most common reason for detention is violations of Chinese birth control laws. China has had a two-child policy for several years. But everyday behavior in private life – such as wearing beards or headscarves, owning religious books or traveling abroad – can also lead to detention, according to the reports.
According to the media, the 137-page document contains detailed information on the cases of more than 300 Uighurs who were detained in internment camps in Karakax County in Xinjiang in 2017 and 2018.
One example is a man who was arrested for closing his restaurant during the Muslim month of fasting Ramadan. The Chinese authorities saw this as an indication that the man could have “extremist ideas”.
Further monitored after internment
According to the media, the list also shows that people released from internment camps continue to be monitored by the Chinese state. Former prisoners who have shown remorse, therefore work “in factories” – WDR, NDR, “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and Deutsche Welle cite experts who suspect that they were forced labor.
Experts accuse Beijing of massive human rights violations in Xinjiang province in northwestern China, which is mostly Uyghur. Re-education camps are said to arbitrarily detain and, in some cases, abuse people.
After initially denying the existence of the camps in Beijing, the government now speaks of “vocational training centers” for deradicalization. Since they are not officially prisons, detention does not precede legal proceedings. (Jaw / SDA / afp)
