|
What We're DoingACTION FILEAmnesty International Group 297 is advocating on behalf of Jelil Aval, Aysa Yoldash, Turdi Obul and Obul Kasem Amat. These four men are political prisoners in China serving harsh sentences after grossly unfair trials. We urge the Chinese authorities to carry out a full review of the cases and trial proceedings, and to grant a new, fair and open trial, in accordance with international standards, failing which they should be released. We are also seeking to confirm the release of four other men who were tried with these prisoners. These eight men were detained in October 1992 in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China (XUAR). They were accused of trying to re-establish the disbanded "Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party," whose leaders had been accused the authorities of leading a "rebellion" in Baren township in April 1990. In July 1993, the eight men were tried (and subsequently convicted) for "organising and leading a counter-revolutionary group." Some were also charged with "counter-revolutionary sabotage" for allegedly buying arms, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment. Four of the men are presumed to have served their sentences and been released. The other four named above remain in detention and their sentences range from 10 years to life imprisonment. Over the past few years, thousands of people in the XUAR have been victims of gross human rights violations. These violations include arbitrary detention or imprisonment, unfair political trials, torture, and arbitrary and summary executions. The victims are mainly Uighars, the majority ethnic group in the region, most of whom are Muslims. In addition, Uighars are suffering unemployment, discrimination, and restrictions on their religious and cultural freedoms, which has led to exacerbation of ethnic tensions between the Uighur people and the Han Chinese in the region, whose migration to the XUAR has increased of late.
|
