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. 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: mission.china@ties.itu.int, 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.