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| Many ethnic minorities, such as those above, have been imprisoned in Xinjiang. (Photo: ChinaAid) |
ChinaAid
(Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region, Xinjiang—Oct. 2, 2018) Local residents in China’s northwestern Xinjiang estimate that more than one million ethnic minorities from Muslim backgrounds have been wrongly imprisoned under horrid conditions and say that officials are even closing schools and hospitals to make room for more.
A Kazakh who resided in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, said, “Schools and hospitals in Xinjiang are renovated to ‘re-education camps’ in order to detain Muslims. Almost every Muslim family has had people detained.”
Another resident of the prefecture told ChinaAid that No. 2 Middle School, No. 3 Elementary School, and the Gongliu Town Hospital have all been changed into camps to detain ethnic minority Muslims. Each building can hold 5,000 people. The linen manufacturing company in Gongliu County is currently being converted into a camp. A station designated for giving blood has also been changed into a detention center for ethnic minority Muslims.
In total, those living in Xinjiang estimate that the number of imprisoned ethnic minorities reaches more than one million, a number matched by the United Nations’ estimation. While in custody, they are often tortured, starved, and brainwashed, as China attempts to bring religion under government control. These people include imams, ordinary believers in Islam, and anyone the government arbitrarily targets. Nusifu Zhoulamani, a 29 year-old horse farm resident, was taken into custody by public security officers in January, likely because he read the Quran and practiced his faith.
In addition, Zhanbolati, a 40 year-old resident in Zhaosu County, Xinjiang, was arrested by local officials for “believing in Islam.”
ChinaAid exposes abuses, such as those who imprisoned in Xinjiang, in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promoting human rights, religious freedom, and rule of law.
ChinaAid Media Team
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