The "Uyghur Tribunal" in London wants to find out more about the situation of the Muslim minority in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Witnesses report torture, mass rape and forced sterilization. Beijing defends itself against the accusations and imposes sanctions against those involved.
In London, an independent panel has begun hearing Uighurs who accuse China of serious abuses against members of the Muslim minority. Witnesses told the "Uyghur Tribunal" of gang rapes and forced sterilizations of women in Beijing-run camps in northwest China's Xinjiang province. The panel, which includes lawyers and human rights experts, plans to publish a report on the human rights situation in Xinjiang in December. Beijing spoke of defamation.
"The allegations against the People's Republic of China are serious," the panel's chairman, Geoffrey Nice, said at the opening of the session. The tribunal is not affiliated with any government, but was established at the request of the largest exiled Uighur organization, the World Uighur Congress. China refused to participate and imposed sanctions on those involved.
Qelbinur Sidik, a Muslim teacher with Uzbek roots from Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, recounted her stay in two smelly, overcrowded "re-education" camps for Uyghurs where she was forced to teach Chinese under duress. People had to wear shackles during hours of instruction, she told the tribunal. The guards at the camp did not consider the male prisoners "human beings," Sidik said. "They enjoyed watching them being humiliated. Their suffering was their pleasure." read more