Feb 16, 2016

(Old) False Accusations to Discredit WUC Executive Chairman


On the occasion of his regular press conference on 16 February 2016, answering a question, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Mr Hong Lei has claimed that Mr Dolkun Isa, Executive Chairman of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and member of UNPO’s Presidency, is wanted by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and China and that he is “suspected of organizing and carrying out a series of explosions, murders, robberies and other severe criminal activities as well as violent terrorist activities”.

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization is shocked by this statement, which it firmly and strongly rejects through an official statement by its General-Secretary, Mr Marino Busdachin. These accusations are unfounded and intentionally aimed at undermining Mr Isa’s reputation and the advocacy work of the World Uyghur Congress, which works for the recognition of several rights including freedom of religion and freedom of speech for the people of East Turkestan.

As already proven on multiple occasions, including when he was wrongfully arrested in South Korea in September 2009 and subsequently released only three days later and allowed to go back to Germany, where he resides as a German citizen since 2006, Mr Dolkun Isa is not a criminal. At the time of his wrongful arrest, among others the European Parliament, the German Embassy to the Republic of Korea and the South Korean authorities themselves had intervened on behalf of Mr Isa to ask for his release.

For many years now Mr Isa has lived and worked in Europe and he regularly takes part in the UN Human Rights Council’s activities, despite strong Chinese pressure to impede his participation, as was also highlighted by Reuters only a few months ago [October 2015].

To download UNPO’s General-Secretary’s official statement, please click here.