China has imposed severe travel restrictions on Uyghurs from its northwestern region of Xinjiang in violation of their internationally protected right to leave the country, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday.
Members of the minority community are prohibited from visiting "sensitive countries" with large Muslim populations such as Turkey. They can only travel to a limited number of countries such as Kazakhstan for business, the group said.
According to the report, Uyghur Muslims are prohibited from engaging with activists abroad or speaking "critically about the Chinese government".
Uyghurs settled abroad wanting to visit Xinjiang are required to furnish a "purpose of travel" and "invitation from a family member".
A Uyghur person, whose father was interrogated after returning from a foreign trip, told the Human Rights Watch he was asked “whom he met, where he went, and what he told people".
"He said, 'I met nobody'. Which was true, we did not even go to Uyghur restaurants to avoid attention and China’s surveillance,” according to the report.
Uyghurs, who are citizens of countries which require a visa to visit China, face a longer application process of upto six months. Participating even in non-political activities, like sending children to Uyghur-language schools or attending a wedding in the presence of Uyghur activists, can result in the visa being rejected, the group claimed.
The report comes as Chinese authorities start to allow some Uyghurs to travel outside Xinjiang, years after confiscating passports of some members of the ethnic minority and imprisoning them for contacting people abroad.
The Chinese government is accused of prosecuting Uyghurs and Hui Muslims over the last decade, including through a campaign of arbitrary detentions. Beijing routinely denies such allegations, calling them the “lie of the century”.
The UN says China has detained more than a million minority Muslims, mostly Uyghurs, since a dramatic escalation in counterterrorism measures in 2017.
China initially denied the existence of any Uyghur detention centres before defending them as “re-education centres”.
Turkey has cultural and ethnic ties to the Uyghurs and many members of the community, fleeing human rights violations in the region, have found sanctuary in Turkey. The Turkish government, which once vehemently criticised China’s treatment of Uyghurs, has moderated its criticism as it developed stronger economic relations with Beijing.
China has so far not issued any official travel restrictions on its citizens from visiting Turkey – one of Beijing’s key trade partners.
Beijing accused Australia of “hypocrisy” and “systemic racism” last October after it was confronted at the UN over its alleged abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet.
Australia, the US and the UK were among 15 countries that issued a joint statement at the UN against alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet.
Some Uyghurs told the rights group that Chinese authorities allowed only one person from a family to travel, holding their immediate family members "hostage" to ensure their return.
Some claimed authorities required them to provide a “guarantor” – often another official vouching for them – before granting them permission to travel. Failure to comply with the rules puts their guarantor or family members at risk of harsh punishment.
A Uyghur person told the rights group their relative in China was shown their photo by the police and asked, “Do you know this person?” The relative said yes. "The police then told them to forget about passports.”
“Uyghurs are facing stringent conditions and requirements if they want to briefly reunite or even just to communicate with family members in China,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Being able to contact or visit loved ones abroad shouldn’t be a privilege granted to a few Uyghurs but is a right that the Chinese government is obligated to respect.”
China has reportedly asked some Uyghurs staying abroad to join propaganda tours to Xinjiang hosted by the Xinjiang United Front Work Department, a Chinese Communist Party body, which are highly monitored.
To join in the tour, people are required to provide to the mission a copy of their Chinese identity cards, passports, and their home addresses in Xinjiang. Uyghurs told the rights group that they joined these official tours as they were safer with an easier visa application process.
The Independent has reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry for comment.
