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Twenty Uyghurs deported from Cambodia still missing
after one year |
UAA
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A year has passed since 20 Uyghur asylum seekers were
deported from Cambodia on a Chinese plane under cover of
darkness, and despite Chinese promises to the contrary,
no information has been made public about their fates.
The Uyghur American Association (UAA) calls upon the
Chinese government to provide information about the 20
Uyghurs’ whereabouts, conditions, and legal statuses,
and to ensure their safety and well-being. UAA also
calls upon the international community to continue to
express concern about their situation and insist that
they be treated according to international human rights
standards. UAA fears that they have likely faced severe
persecution, including possible imprisonment, torture,
and execution.
The 20 Uyghurs, including one woman and two infants,
were deported on December 19, 2009, after having been
arbitrarily labeled “criminals” by the Chinese
government and just prior to a visit to Cambodia by
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, during which he
signed a US$1.2 billion economic aid agreement with the
government in Phnom Penh. The Uyghurs had been in the
process of applying for refugee status at the office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in
Phnom Penh. All except one of the Uyghurs who were
deported had fled to Cambodia amidst a harsh crackdown
on the Uyghur population following unrest in the
regional capital of Urumchi that began on July 5, 2009.
“Scores of young Uyghurs have fled China since July 5,
2009, in order to escape the intense repression in their
homeland, and it is fortunate that no Uyghur has been
deported from the Western countries where they are
seeking asylum,” said Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya
Kadeer. “However, it is vital that Western nations
continue to press China for information about the 20
Uyghurs deported from Cambodia, and that they recognize
the extreme danger that exists for any Uyghur asylum
seekers who are sent back to China. China considers all
Uyghurs who flee China to be criminals, regardless of
the evidence.”
Twenty-two Uyghurs had initially sought protection from
the UNHCR at its offices in Phnom Penh, after having
escaped China through a network of Christian aid groups.
UNHCR officials had yet to finish reviewing their cases
when they were handcuffed and forcefully taken from
UNHCR protection by Cambodian authorities. Two Uyghurs
fled before the deportations took place.
Both Cambodia and China are parties to the 1951
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the
1984 Convention on Torture. These conventions forbid the
return of people to their home countries if they would
likely be subjected to persecution, torture or execution
there.
Two of those seeking asylum in Cambodia reported having
witnessed security forces killing and beating Uyghur
demonstrators on July 5, 2009 in Urumchi. In a statement
to UNHCR quoted by Radio Free Asia (RFA), Mutellip Mamut
expressed fears that, if returned to China, he would be
sentenced to life imprisonment or given the death
penalty on false charges because of his documentation of
police abuses against Uyghur demonstrators.
In deporting the 20 Uyghurs, Cambodian officials ignored
the entreaties of non-governmental organizations and
government bodies from around the world not to bend to
Chinese pressure. UAA extends its gratitude to the U.S.
government and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for
the appeals they made on behalf of the Uyghurs, and
thanks all organizations that worked to prevent their
deportation.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January 2010,
in the wake of the deportations, calling upon the
Chinese government to disclose the status and
whereabouts of the deported Uyghurs:
“Uighur asylum seekers sent back to China by Cambodia
have disappeared into a black hole,” said Sophie
Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights
Watch. “There is no information about their whereabouts,
no notification of any legal charges against them, and
there are no guarantees they are safe from torture and
ill-treatment.”
There has also been no news about the fate of 17 Uyghurs
and one Han Chinese individual who were reportedly
deported from Myanmar in January 2010. While border
disagreements have created tensions in the Sino-Burmese
relationship, flourishing Sino-Burmese trade, which
reached $2.63 billion in 2008, underscores trade
concerns inherent to the ties between the two nations.
Uyghurs forcibly repatriated from other countries are
frequently subjected to extremely harsh treatment, and
are often never heard from again. Concern over the fate
of the 20 Uyghurs deported from Cambodia is compounded
by the fact that China hinted at subjecting them to
trials in response to questions from the New York Times.
The Chinese government has portrayed the unrest in
Urumchi solely as a criminal act carried out by a small
group of violent Uyghurs, ignoring security forces’
killings of Uyghur protestors, the mass arbitrary
detentions of Uyghurs and the systemic human rights
issues that led Uyghurs to engage in a peaceful protest
on the afternoon of July 5. The government’s treatment
of Uyghurs who dared to speak out about human rights
violations after July 5 may best be exemplified by the
case of Haji Memet and Abdusalam Nasir, who told RFA
that Memet’s relative Shohret Tursun had been beaten to
death in detention in September 2009. Memet and Nasir
were taken into detention on September 23, 2009 on
charges of “leaking state secrets”, and their current
situation is unknown.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) documented the
crackdown carried out by government authorities on the
Uyghur population after July 5 in response to the unrest
in Urumchi. Beginning in the early hours of July 6,
2009, and continuing in subsequent weeks and months,
Uyghurs living in Urumchi and other locations in East
Turkestan were subjected to widespread arbitrary
detention and “forcible disappearances”. Chinese
officials declared many of those detained to be
criminals prior to the start of any criminal trials.
Among the thousands of Uyghurs who were arbitrarily
detained and “forcibly disappeared” in the days, weeks
and months after July 5 were the owners and staff of
many Uyghur websites accused by the government of having
promoted “separatism” or “splittism”.
As stated by Human Rights Watch in its 2009 report,
accounts given by witnesses to the arrests of Uyghurs
suggest that the arrests were carried out in violation
of Chinese and international law. Witnesses said
security forces did not introduce themselves or explain
the reasons for arrest, and they did not tell families
of those arrested where they were being taken. When
family members later sought information from the police
and military, they were given no information regarding
the location, condition or legal status of their loved
ones.
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