Source: RFA<\/p>\n
A Chinese court in the country\u2019s northwestern Xinjiang region has jailed a young Uyghur woman for 10 years over claims by a friend that she had promoted the wearing of headscarves, a form of Islamic dress increasingly restricted by Chinese authorities, sources say.<\/p>\n
Horigul Nasir had been working as an au pair in Xinjiang\u2019s Kashgar city, the woman\u2019s brother Yusupjan Nasir told RFA\u2019s Uyghur Service.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of her friends had been arrested and was being interrogated by the police, and when she was told to tell them everything she knew, she said that my sister had once told her that not wearing a headscarf was sinful,\u201d Yusupjan said.<\/p>\n
Yusupjan, a security worker in Yengisar county\u2019s Saghan village, said his sister\u2019s friend may have been terrified and made up the story in order to save herself from further questioning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reality, my sister doesn\u2019t wear a headscarf, nor does she pray five times a day,\u201d a practice required of devout and observant Muslims, Yusupjan said. <\/p>\n
Horigul\u2019s family was not permitted to attend her trial, Yusupjan said, adding that the secretary of their district later visited the home to read out the verdict to Horigul\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe collapsed on hearing the news. It took her a long time to recover from the shock. At home, we never talk about my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear and threats<\/p>\n
Another Yengisar county resident, Abduwasip Omer, was also recently handed a 10-year prison term, just two years after being released from another 10-year term, the man\u2019s brother told RFA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know the reason for his arrest this time, and we didn\u2019t dare ask,\u201d Abdukerim Omer, the jailed man\u2019s brother, said. \u201cNo words can describe the fear and threats we have been forced to endure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA group of officials from the county court visited our home to read the court\u2019s verdict to us, but we lacked the courage to speak out and ask why he had been punished so harshly. My sister, Heynisa Omer, was arrested a month ago for asking where our brother was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has been held in a re-education camp ever since, and we don\u2019t know what will happen to her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Arrests have recently been on the rise in Kashgar\u2019s Yengisar county, with many of those arrested \u201con petty charges\u201d quickly sentenced to terms ranging from 10 to 15 years, sources in the region told RFA\u2019s Uyghur Service.<\/p>\n
Common reasons for arrest include holding \u201cextremist religious views, determined by what suspects have said or how they are dressed,\u201d a police officer in Topuluk village\u2019s District No. 4 said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOther reasons for arrest include using mobile phones to access religious information, listening to illegal teachings, or failing to report the illegal behavior of others to the authorities,\u201d the officer said, adding that parents who fail to educate their family members \u201caccording to government policy\u201d are also subject to arrest.<\/p>\n
Thousands held<\/p>\n
Topuluk village alone contains six districts, Ablajan Nurmemet, another police officer assigned to the village, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember exact numbers, but I can tell you that at least 250 people have been arrested in each district, with 450 being the largest number in any one of them. Overall, the total number this year alone has exceeded 2,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we add the numbers from last year and the year before, the total would be more than 3,000,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThere are five re-education camps located in the county where those who have been arrested are placed until they are sentenced.\u201d<\/p>\n
China\u2019s ruling Communist Party blames Uyghurs for a string of violent attacks and clashes in China in recent years, but critics say the government has exaggerated the threat from the ethnic group, and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for violence that has left hundreds dead since 2009.<\/p>\n
China regularly conducts \u201cstrike hard\u201d campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material.<\/p>\n
Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA\u2019s Uyghur Service. Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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