UAA, Washington, 25 Aug 2009 – The Uyghur American Association (UAA) believes that the Chinese government’s contradictory statements on the details of trials for Uyghurs detained in the wake of unrest in Urumchi on July 5, 2009 indicate an absence of transparency surrounding criminal and judicial procedures, as well as a process driven by political motivations.
The state-controlled China Daily indicated in a report issued on August 24, 2009 that trials of more than 200 people detained over the unrest in East Turkestan’s regional capital of Urumchi would begin this week. The report, later withdrawn from the China Daily’s website (see below for the full text of the report), contained a number of specifics on aspects of the cases; however, in a statement, Li Hua, an official from the regional government’s press office, said [i] that no dates have been arranged for the trials. Mr. Li added that the number of trials is set at 83 and not at 200 as stated by the China Daily. UAA asserts that these contradictions only increase the skepticism with which these trials should be viewed by the international community.
Many of the details on the criminal and judicial procedures in the cases as reported by the China Daily are contested in reports emerging from East Turkestan, adding to grave doubts regarding the divergent official accounts of detentions and impending trials.
The China Daily report stated that police have detained 718 people in connection with the unrest and that police have gathered 3,318 items of evidence to be used at the trials, which will be held at Urumchi Intermediate People’s Court. The figure of 718 detentions has been contradicted in both official Chinese sources and western media sources. Firstly, in an August 2, 2009 report [ii] from the New York Times, citing the official Xinhua News Agency, which states that Chinese authorities have publicly admitted over 2,000 people have been detained, and secondly, in a July 19, 2009 Financial Times report [iii], which details the detention of over 4,000 Uyghurs. UAA has learned via unconfirmed reports from Uyghurs who have recently managed to leave East Turkestan that the number of Uyghur detentions may be higher than the number suggested by the Financial Times. These reports remain unconfirmed due to the information blackout, which remains in place in East Turkestan, affecting internet and wireless communications.
Further unconfirmed information received by UAA also indicates that Uyghur detainees have received severe beatings at the hands of Chinese penal authorities, which have in some cases resulted in deaths [iv]. The information source added that there were instances of Uyghur detainees who had received beatings so severe while in detention that after their release they had died as a result of their injuries. Family members of Uyghur detainees have not been able to confirm if their relatives are still alive as Chinese authorities, in contravention of Chinese law, are not disclosing the location of Uyghurs in detention. UAA believes that the beatings point to a well-documented Chinese government use of torture to extract confessions and that the 3,318 items of evidence gathered by Chinese police to support any confessions must be brought into question.
UAA is also concerned that the outcome of these trials have been determined before their commencement, and serve as a Chinese government tool to intimidate Uyghurs and eliminate peaceful Uyghur dissent. UAA contends that Chinese Communist Party politicians and not the legal system have laid the groundwork for the outcome of these trials through their public comments on the severity with which punishment should be dispensed. At a news conference [v] on July 8, 2009, Urumchi Communist Party Secretary Li Zhi indicated the planned use of capital punishment against those convicted of the most serious offenses by stating “[t]o those who have committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them.”
In addition, the assignment of lawyers by Chinese authorities to the accused as reported by the China Daily indicates that death sentences may have been determined before any trial begins. A 2006 study conducted by the Great Britain China Center, the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences and the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law found that “[t]he defence council is assigned to a case rather late in criminal proceedings. In general, assignment takes place after the defendant has confessed and after investigation has been finalized. Capital cases are processed rapidly through the criminal justice system, leaving not much room for unfolding effective criminal defence. Death penalty proceedings are carried out at a rapid pace.”
In a statement, Uyghur democracy leader, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, said: “The Chinese government contradictions over the trials of Uyghurs detained in the Urumchi unrest are cause for grave concern. When these trials go ahead they will neither be open, nor fair. The procedures in these cases have been flawed from the very beginning and contravene China’s own laws. The only reports that have emerged on the criminal and judicial process for detainees have come from Chinese government sources, which do not mention the beating, sometimes to death, of Uyghurs while in custody – a routine practice well-documented by human rights groups such as Amnesty International.”
UAA has also learned from unconfirmed reports that executions of Uyghurs have already taken place. According to the information source, summary trials and executions of Uyghur ‘masterminds’ of the events in Urumchi were conducted by Chinese authorities in swift retribution for the unrest. The trials and executions took place on July 8 and 9, 2009, two days after the unrest began, when residents of Urumchi were compelled to remain inside their homes by Chinese authorities.
UAA urges the international media to question reports produced by the official Chinese media as the content is often politically motivated and cannot be verified due to the Chinese government monopoly of information and the communications blackout in East Turkestan.
UAA cautions the international community, especially the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Muslim nations, to intercede in the continuing instability in East Turkestan exacerbated by the Chinese authorities’ non-transparent judicial procedures. UAA emphasizes the gravity of the East Turkestan issue due to the absence of Chinese government self-examination as to the root causes of the Urumchi unrest among Uyghurs. UAA also urges the international community to seek an assurance from the Chinese government that it cease its arrest, torture and killing of Uyghur people on political grounds. UAA recommends that the Chinese government seek negotiations with the World Uyghur Congress to address Uyghur grievances in an open, fair and equitable manner.
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