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World Uyghur Congress Condemns 15-year Sentence Handed
Down to Uyghur Journalist and Website Editor Gheyret
Niyaz |
For immediate release
July 24, 2010
Contact: World Uyghur Congress (www.uyghurcongress.org)
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 (Munich, Germany), +1 (202) 535
0048 (Washington, DC, USA)
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The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) condemns in strongest
possible terms the 15-year
sentence handed down to prominent Uyghur journalist
Gheyret Niyaz by a court in East Turkestan (also known
as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China) on
July 23, 2010. After a one-day trial, the court
convicted and sentenced Mr. Niyaz to 15 years in prison
on charges of “endangering state security” for giving
interviews to media about the aspects of Uyghurs’
situation that he perceived to be the root causes of the
July 2009 ethnic unrest in Urumchi (the regional
capital) and for peacefully exercising his freedom of
speech in other ways with regard to problems faced by
the Uyghur people. According to reports, prosecutors
relied on interviews Mr. Niyaz gave to Hong Kong media
after the unrest and essays he had written and posted
online prior to the July 2009 events that discussed
unemployment, discrimination, and other problems faced
by Uyghurs in East Turkestan. [1]
Mr. Niyaz was detained in October 2009 [2] in the midst
of the detention of many other Uyghur journalists,
bloggers, and webmasters in the aftermath of the July
2009 protest and ethnic unrest [3], as well as in the
midst of a state-imposed information blackout that
deprived residents of internet and e-mail access and
text messaging and international phone calling
capabilities [4].
Mr. Niyaz was sentenced after a one-day trial that only
one member of his family — his wife –was permitted to
attend. [5] He was denied legal representation of his
choosing [6] and due process, and his trial was
conducted against a background of intense politicization
[7]. The charge on which he was prosecuted and convicted
– “endangering state security” – is regularly used by
the Chinese authorities to criminalize Uyghurs’ peaceful
exercise of their human rights. The use of this vague
and arbitrary provision in China’s Criminal Code to
prosecute and imprison Uyghur dissidents has drastically
increased in recent years. [8]
WUC proclaims that the sentencing of Mr. Niyaz for
peacefully exercising his human rights is the latest
attempt by the Chinese authorities to stifle freedom of
expression and freedom of the press in East Turkestan,
instill fear in the Uyghur people to deter them from
sharing information about human rights violations that
they have experienced and witnessed, and cover up the
truth of what occurred during and in the aftermath of
the July 2009 protest and ethnic unrest in Urumchi. WUC
calls on the Chinese authorities to immediately and
unconditionally release Mr. Niyaz, as he has committed
no discernible crime under either international or
domestic law.
“Gheyret Niyaz has been condemned to spend the next 15
years of his life behind bars for simply expressing his
opinions,” said Rebiya Kadeer, President of the World
Uyghur Congress and multiple-time Nobel Peace Prize
nominee. “The prosecution and conviction of Mr. Niyaz on
charges of ‘endangering state security’ is the most
recent example of the Chinese authorities’ misuse of
this vague and arbitrary provision in China’s Criminal
Code to criminalize Uyghurs’ peaceful expression.
‘Endangering state security’ has basically become a
‘catch-all’ for virtually any speech that reflects
negatively on the Chinese authorities.”
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