World Uyghur Congress highlights dire situation of Uyghurs in Xinjiang on International Day against Torture

On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has highlighted the dire situation faced by millions of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province, also known as East Turkistan.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, WUC told the painful story of Uighurs being arbitrarily detained in concentration camps, where they endured severe and inhumane treatment.

Survivor testimonies indicate that detainees are tortured using bondage chairs, weighted shackles, hoods, or blindfolds.

“Despite early legal restrictions, ratification of the UN Convention against Torture in 1988, and official campaigns in the 1990s, China has not implemented concrete measures to prevent torture,” the statement posted on X said.

Despite initial legal restrictions, ratification of the UN Convention against Torture in 1988, and official campaigns in the 1990s, China has not implemented concrete measures to curb torture.

— World Uyghur Congress (@UyghurCongress) June 26, 2024

The organisation also highlighted a persistent issue where police influence over the judiciary undermines these legal safeguards.

“Measures such as the exclusion rule (banning evidence from torture) and videotaped interrogations exist, but are often undermined by the power of the police over the judiciary. Fundamental rights such as access to independent lawyers, doctors and communication with family are often denied,” the World Uyghur Congress said in a statement.

Congress further reported that in detention centres, devices such as restraint chairs (tiger chairs), weighted restraints, and hoods/blindfolds are used to torture Uighurs and other Turkic peoples.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture described these items as inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading.

The World Uyghur Congress statement highlighted international concerns over ongoing human rights abuses in Xinjiang and called for global attention and concrete action to alleviate the plight of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples facing persecution in the region.