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, the WUC detailed harrowing accounts of Uyghurs arbitrarily detained in concentration camps, where they endured severe and inhumane treatment.

Survivors’ testimonies reveal that detainees are subjected to torture through methods such as restraint chairs, weighted restraints, and hoods or blindfolds.

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

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

“Measures like the exclusionary rule (banning evidence from torture) & videotaped interrogations exist but are often undermined by the police’s power over the judiciary. Fundamental rights like access to independent lawyers, doctors, and family communication are frequently denied,” the World Uyghur Congress said in a statement.

The Congress further pointed out that in detention facilities, equipment such as restraint chairs (tiger chairs), weighted restraints, and hoods/blindfolds is used to torture Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.

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

The World Uyghur Congress’s statement underscored ongoing international concerns over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, urging global attention and concerted action to address the plight of Uyghur and other Turkic peoples facing persecution in the region.