Chinese Police Detain at Least 10 Ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang For ‘Ties With Uyghurs’

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have detained around 10 ethnic minority Kazakhs for “having close ties” with a group of Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs, local sources told RFA.

The Kazakhs were detained on June 10 by the Dushanzi district state security police in Xinjiang’s Karamay city, a local resident said, naming two detainees as Halibyat Baimullah, 47, and Kanjitai Dushan, 49.

They were accused of cultivating “close ties” with a group of Muslim Uyghurs for prayer, the source said.

“The police detained a lot of people; a whole minibus was completely full,” the source told RFA in a recent interview.

The source said the accusations against the men made him angry.

“They were like, why are you on such good terms with the Uyghurs,” he said. “They have been watching very closely lately, at any rate.”

He said the authorities have imposed strict controls on Muslims in Xinjiang during the traditional Ramadan month of dawn-to-dusk fasting.

“When it gets to be lunchtime during Ramadan, they get all of the Muslim employees together in their workplace and force them to eat,” the source said. “But Muslims aren’t supposed to eat lunch during Ramadan.”

Full story: rfa.org

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA’s Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.