- Joel Gunter
- BBC reporter
Image source,Getty Images
Since the escalation of the Chinese government’s “anti-terrorism” and de-radicalization actions in Xinjiang in 2017, the Chinese government’s actions in Xinjiang have aroused global anger.
The human rights organization Amnesty International stated that China has committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
A report issued by “Amnesty International” on June 10 called for the UN to investigate this, and claimed that China was detaining, monitoring and torturing people of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslims on a large scale.
Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard accused the Chinese authorities of creating “a scene of dystopian hell on a staggering scale.”
Karamad said: “A large number of (Muslim) people are brainwashed, tortured and subjected to other degrading treatment in detention camps, while millions of people live in fear of huge surveillance machines. This should shock humanity. Conscience.”
She also accused the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (António Guterres) of “not fulfilling his duties.” Guterres “has not condemned this situation, nor requested an international investigation,” Karamad told the BBC: “He has a responsibility to protect the values that the United Nations builds on, and of course he cannot remain silent in the face of crimes against humanity.”
“Amnesty International” released 160 pages based on interviews with 55 previously detained persons, stating that there is evidence that the Chinese government “committed at least the following crimes against humanity: illegal imprisonment; other serious deprivation of personal freedom; torture and persecution.” .
Prior to this report, Human Rights Watch had similar findings. In an April report, it claimed that the Chinese government is responsible for crimes against humanity.
Some Western countries and human rights groups accuse China of “genocide” against Turkic groups in Xinjiang, but there is still controversy over whether China’s actions constitute “genocide.”
“Amnesty International” author Jonathan Loeb (Jonathan Loeb) said at a press conference on Thursday that the organization’s research “has not found all evidence of genocide that has occurred”, but so far ” Only touch the surface”.
China has consistently denied all allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang.
Severe violence and intimidation
Experts generally believe that in the crackdown on Xinjiang that began in 2017, China has detained as many as 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims, and imprisoned tens of thousands.
There are also a large number of reports about the physical and psychological torture of prisoners in Xinjiang prisons and detention camps.
China has also been accused of using methods such as forced sterilization, abortion and employment transfers to reduce birth rates and population density, and to crack down on religious leaders in order to break (Muslim) religious and cultural traditions.
China denies these allegations and claims that its “re-education camps” in Xinjiang are based on voluntary vocational training and de-radicalization programs to combat terrorism in the region.
“Amnesty International” stated in the report that anti-terrorism cannot provide a reasonable explanation for the mass detention of (Muslims) in China. The actions of the Chinese government showed “clear intentions: to target part of the population in Xinjiang based on religion and race (factors), and to use severe violence and intimidation to eradicate Islamic religious beliefs and ethnic Turkic Muslim cultural customs.”
The organization believes that those who were taken to the “re-education camps” in Xinjiang “suffered endless brainwashing campaigns and physical and psychological torture.”
According to the report, these tortures included “beating, electric shocks, pressure postures, illegal use of restraints (including being locked on a tiger bench), sleep deprivation, hanging from a wall, exposure to extremely cold temperatures, and solitary confinement.”
The tiger stool is a unique instrument of torture in Chinese society. It exerts unbearable pressure on the legs and knee joints to achieve the purpose of torturing and interrogating the tortured. Some previously detained persons told Amnesty International that they were forced to watch others locked in a tiger bench motionless for hours or even days.
Amnesty International also stated that Xinjiang’s detention camp system appeared to “operate independently of China’s criminal justice system or other known domestic laws of China”, and there was evidence that detainees were transferred from camps to prisons.
Although many investigation results have been reported before, the Amnesty International investigation may cause the international community to put pressure on China’s actions in Xinjiang. The US State Department had previously described it as “genocide,” and the parliaments of Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, and Lithuania have passed resolutions and made the same statement.
In March, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials involved. In response, China imposed retaliatory sanctions on legislators, researchers, and institutions in relevant countries.
Since China is not a signatory of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which puts it outside the jurisdiction of the court, and China has the right to veto cases accepted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it is possible that China will be investigated by international legal institutions Sex becomes complicated. The International Criminal Court announced in December that it would not accept related cases.
A series of independent hearings were held in London last week. The hearing was led by Sir Geoffrey Nice, a well-known British barrister, and was designed to assess allegations of “genocide” against China from outsiders.