Wearing a headscarf, visiting a foreign website or applying for a passport. Leaked Chinese documents show that Uighurs are already being sent to so-called re-education camps.
In the documents, recently leaked and made public today by, among others, the BBC, the details of more than 300 people are listed. They all come from Karakax, a district in the autonomous region of Xinjiang where mainly Uighurs live, a predominantly Muslim minority in China.
No risk, but to a camp
The document shows neat columns with practical information such as name, address and age. But a little further down it is also noted whether and how often someone prays, how many Korans he has, and which family members are in contact. Finally, in the last column: the judgment as to whether someone is released, has to stay longer or even has to return to such a camp.
In addition, the list contains all kinds of details about family members, friends and neighbors of the 300 main characters. In total it concerns around 3000 people.
The source shows that some people were detained because they were preparing an attack. But the majority of the 300 people had to go to a detention camp for something completely different. For example, 38-year-old Helchem wore a headscarf a few years ago. And 34-year-old Memettothi applied for a passport. Although he was subsequently labeled “no risk”, he had to go to a camp.
According to Susanne Kamerling, researcher at the Clingendael Institute, it was already known that people were detained for such “minimal reasons”. “But with this document it is also black and white. And the more conclusive the evidence, the more seriously it must be taken by everyone.”
We explain to you in the video below how China is controlling the Uyghurs in Xinjiang:
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