STATEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF THE XINJIANG POLICE FILES
Today, we have seen further evidence of the Chinese government’s systematic, brutal and relentless persecution of the Uyghurs and other minoritized groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Internal police files, analysed by IPAC adviser Professor Adrian Zenz and released by the BBC, document in unprecedented detail the Chinese government’s use of both so-called ‘re-education camps’ and the formal prison networks to carry out its mass detention of Uyghurs. The files reveal military grade securitisation of the camps, including ‘shoot to kill’ policies for escapees, and show that many of the detainees were arrested for ordinary outward expressions of their Muslim faith.
These revelations once again expose the Chinese government’s claims that these camps are for ‘re-education’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ purposes as a lie. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights continues her visit to China, we reiterate our assertion that anything less than a thorough investigation into the alleged atrocities with full, unfettered access to the region risks whitewashing over the abuses and damaging the credibility of her office.
We call on our governments to work to ensure that all Chinese government officials responsible for this brutal persecution of the Uyghurs be held accountable, including through the use of targeted, Magnitsky-style sanctions and through the international judicial system.
