 |
| Kazakh children who are petitioning the Chinese government on behalf of their parents, who are illegally imprisoned in Xinjiang. (Photo: ChinaAid) |
ChinaAid
(Almaty, Kazakhstan—June 8, 2018) About 60 children testified at a press conference held by the Kazakh human rights organization Atajurt Youth Volunteer Group in Kazakhstan, on May 31, telling of the abuses endured by their parents, who are imprisoned in reformation camps in China’s northwestern Xinjiang.
Saierkejian Bilaixi, one of the Atajurt Youth Volunteer Group’s leaders, told ChinaAid, “On May 31, we fundraised for the children … One or both of their parents are detained in the reformation camps in Xinjiang. Kazakh celebrities flew from Germany and other regions to attend the conference.”
After the children shared their stories with reporters, the group escorted them to the Chinese Consulate in Almaty to press for their parents’ release. Another Kazakh who was with the group said, “In the beginning, the Chinese officials did not want to meet with us. Afterwards, three people came out and asked us to assign three representatives. We demanded that the Chinese government release the prisoners immediately and stop the so-called reformation of the parents. The staff members of the Chinese Consulate asked the children to write a petition letter.”
However, they refused to accept the letters and asked each child to fill out a form, which took an hour and a half and required them to write the names of their parents and their addresses. The officials also refused to accept the forms because the children wrote in Kazakh, not Chinese.
A person with knowledge of the situation said, “At first, their attitude was really bad, refusing to admit that there are political training centers in China. After negotiation and demonstrations, their attitude softened a little. We made another appointment for submitting the petition letters.”
Additionally, some young Kazakhs living in Emin County, Xinjiang, were recently re-arrested after their release and held in the reformation camps as police attempted to fulfill arbitrary orders from their superiors. This is part of a larger crackdown occurring in Xinjiang, which uses paranoia about terrorism to imprison innocent citizens from predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. Often, these people are arrested for actions as benign as discussing plans to emigrate or visiting their children in Kazakhstan. Once in custody, they are often taken to reformation camps, or detention centers known for subjecting ethnic minorities to starvation and torture.
An informed source said that some prisoners are committing suicide after being released from reformation camps in Xinjiang’s Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. ChinaAid has been unable to confirm this information.
The persecution of Muslims and ethnic minorities undermines and contradicts both international stipulations and China’s domestic laws. The government’s actions violate Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which China is a signatory, which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion….” Additionally, Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution reads, “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.” ChinaAid calls on the international community to urge China to immediately and unconditionally free all arbitrarily arrested prisoners and honor its commitments to international human rights regulations and its own laws.
ChinaAid exposes abuses, such as those suffered by ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.
ChinaAid Media Team
Cell: +1 (432) 553-1080 | Office: +1 (432) 689-6985 | Other: +1 (888) 889-7757
Email: [email protected]
For more information, click here