Communist China’s Genocidal Crackdown on Uyghur Intellectuals
by Uzay Bulut, Gatestone Institute:
China’s genocide against its Uyghur ethnic minority in Xinjiang, also known as East Turkestan, presses on. Up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other minorities have been detained in extrajudicial “re-education camps” where deaths, torture and political indoctrination take place. This genocidal campaign seems now specifically to be targeting Uyghur intellectuals. Hundreds have been taken into internment camps, disappeared or died in custody. Among them are professors, journalists, medical researchers, doctors, actors, poets, publishers, writers and students. They are often subjected to harsher prison sentences, as well as death sentences. Many are missing.
One of the victims, Ahmetjan Juma, the principal of a high school and a literary translator, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being held for two years of “training” in China’s internment camps.
Ahmetjan Juma’s brother, Mamatjan, suggested that Ahmetjan is being punished simply because he, his brother, works at Radio Free Asia (RFA) as Deputy Director of the Uyghur Service. On May 1, he tweeted:
“China should end this unjust practice of jailing innocent Uyghur intellectuals like my brother and release him unconditionally.
“My brother, Ahmetjan, has never been a religious person, let alone being a religious extremist. He spoke English, Chinese and Uyghur (Uyghur is his mother tongue) and was praised for being an exemplary teacher before.
“It’s horrifying to think that his 4-year-old son, who spent most of his life without his father, will be an adult by the time his father is released (if he is ever going to be released alive). It’s heartbreaking. Ahmetjan is innocent and China knows it.”
In an interview with Gatestone Institute, Mamatjan Juma said:
Please right-click links to open in a new window.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
