Newsnight has found that Uighur people in the Middle East have been targeted by nations including Saudi Arabia, in apparent cooperation with China’s notorious crackdown on the ethnic minority. Please subscribe HERE [ Ссылка ]
Uighur pilgrims and students in Saudi Arabia have been detained and forcibly deported back to China where they are understood to be placed into the county’s notorious ‘re-education’ camps.
Besides deportations, activists estimate that hundreds of Uighurs have been pressured by Chinese authorities to return from abroad countries by threats and long imprisonments of family members back home.
China and Saudi Arabia have denied the targeting of Uighurs in this manner.
The Chinese Embasssy told Newsnight:
The claims are “based on fabricated rumours”. “In China, the rule of law guarantees citizens’ personal freedom and right to leave and enter the country.” They added that “China has never pressed other countries… [to] forcibly deport people to China”. They emphasised that “there is no so-called re-education camp in Xinjiang”. The “training centres [are] established in accordance with [the] law”.
The Saudi Embassy said:
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fully complies with international norms and Saudi law when cooperating with other countries on issues such as deportation". "Saudi Arabia considers all deportations on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the nature and seriousness of any violation and paying no heed to a person’s race or religion.”
The Egyptian and Emirati embassies did not respond to our requests for comment.
Emir Nader reports and this film was produced by Maria Polachowska.
