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China
Despite a few positive steps, no attempt was made to introduce the fundamental
legal and institutional reforms necessary to bring an end to serious human rights
violations. Tens of thousands of people continued to be detained or imprisoned
in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and association, and were
at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment. Thousands of people were sentenced
to death or executed. Restrictions increased on the cultural and religious rights
of the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang, where thousands of people
have been detained or imprisoned for so-called "separatist" or "terrorist"
offences. In Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan areas, freedom of expression and
religion continued to be severely restricted. China continued to use the international
"war against terrorism" as a pretext for cracking down on peaceful
dissent.
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region
The authorities continued to use the international "war
against terrorism" to justify harsh repression in Xinjiang, which continued
to result in serious human rights violations against the ethnic Uighur community.
The authorities continued to make little distinction between acts of violence
and acts of passive resistance. Repression was often manifested through assaults
on Uighur culture, such as the closure of several mosques, restrictions on the
use of the Uighur language and the banning of certain Uighur books and journals.
The crack-down against suspected "separatists, terrorists
and religious extremists" intensified following the start of a renewed
100-day security crack-down in October. Arrests continued and thousands of political
prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, remained in prison. Concerns increased
that China was putting pressure on neighbouring countries to forcibly return
Uighurs suspected of "separatist" activities, including asylum-seekers
and refugees.
Officials confirmed in October that Shaheer Ali, who had been
forcibly returned to China from Nepal in 2002, had been executed after being
found guilty of "terrorist" offences in a closed trial. He had been
recognized as a refugee by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Nepal. Shaheer
Ali had secretly left behind a detailed testimony in which he described being
beaten, given electric shocks and kicked unconscious during a previous period
of detention in 1994.
Source: Amnesty
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