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Press Release

China: Grave concern about the safety of 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers, whose whereabouts remain unknown more than a year after their return to China

 Case CHN 241210

Whereabouts unknown/ Forcible return/ Fear for the safety
 
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People’s Republic of China.
 
Brief description of the situation
 
TheInternational Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and Antenna International, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, that the whereabouts of 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers, including two children (see details below), who were forcibly deported to China from Cambodia on 19 December 2009, remain unknown more than a year after their return to China. The Chinese authorities have reportedly refused to provide information about their fates. OMCT is gravely concern about their safety.
 
According to the information received, on 19 December 2009, Abdugheni Abdulkadir and family, Abulkadir Shahida, Abulkadir Bilal, Abulkadir Maymuna, Abdugheni Halil, Abdullah Kasim, Ali Ahmat, Ali Nur, Amat Eli, Ebrayim Mamut, Hazirtieli Umar, Islam Urayim, Kuban Kanwul, Mahmut Bilal, Mamat Ali, Mohammed Musa, Mutallip Mamut, Omar Mohammed, Tuniyazi Aikaebaier Jiang and Turik Muhamed were forced aboard a plane in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, chartered by the Chinese authorities despite the fact that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was in the process of reviewing their applications for refugee status. All except one of the Uyghurs had fled to Cambodia in the aftermath of a crackdown in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China in July 2009[1], fearing persecution by the Chinese authorities.
 
The Chinese authorities have reportedly since then refused to disclose information about their whereabouts, legal statuses or well-being.
 
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the safety of the abovementioned 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers and accordingly urges the competent Chinese authorities to immediately disclose their whereabouts as well as guarantee their physical and psychological integrity, at all times, in accordance with international human rights law, in particular the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, both conventions to which China is a state party.
 
 Actions Requested
 
Please write to the authorities in the People’s Republic of China urging them to:
 
i.                     Take all necessary measures to immediately locate and disclose the whereabouts of  the abovementioned 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers;
ii.                   Guarantee, in all circumstances, their physical and psychological integrity; 
iii.                  Order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iv.                 Grant them immediate and unconditional access to a lawyer of their choice and their families, as well as guarantee that they are examined by independent doctors and receive adequate medical care if necessary, in accordance, inter alia, with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
v.                   Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

 Ø      Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Guojia Zongli, The State Council General Office, 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Ø      Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, [email protected] / [email protected]
Ø      Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong’anbu, 14 Dongchang’anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216
Ø      Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Ch. De Surville, CP 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Suisse, e-mail: [email protected], Fax : +41 22 793 70 14
 
Please also write to the embassies of the People’s Republic of China in your respective country.
 
***
Geneva, 24 December 2010.  
 
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
 
[1] The crackdown was one of the most violent in years with over 200 people killed in Urumqi, the regional capital, in July 2009. According to the information received, hundreds of Uighurs were detained after the violence and people were executed for involvement in the rioting.