East Turkestan: Deportation of Uyghurs to China Temporarily Halted by Sweden
On Monday, 24 September 2018, Swedish authorities affirmed that due to concerns over the situation of the Uyghurs in China, their deportation has been temporarily halted. The decision was influenced by information received by several human rights organizations that have denounced the mass detainment of Uyghurs in re-education camps, further indicating that the situation of Uighurs and other minority groups from the region of Xinjiang has deteriorated. Amongst reports from organizations such as Amnesty International and allegations that the Chinese Government is implementing a campaign of mass internment and surveillance to promote political and cultural assimilation, China affirms that its restrictions on Muslim minorities is aimed at combating separatist elements and the so-called “Islamic extremism” in the area.
The article below was published by Channel NewsAsia:
STOCKHOLM: Swedish authorities said on Monday [24 September 2018] they had temporarily halted the deportation of Muslim minority Uighurs to China due to concerns over the situation there.
"Information from several human rights organisations indicates that the situation for Uighurs has deteriorated" in the western region of Xinjiang, the Swedish Migration Agency said in a statement obtained by AFP.
The decision also concerns "other minority groups from Xinjiang who have received expulsion orders," a spokeswoman for the agency told AFP.
The authorities did not give any details of how many people might be affected by the decision but in early September, the Swedish Migration Agency announced it had suspended the deportation of a Uighur family to China after their asylum request was rejected.
Xinjiang is home to around 22 million inhabitants, of whom almost half are Uighurs of Turkish origin. Many of them say they are discriminated against by China's Han majority.
Human rights organisations around the world have accused China of detaining massive numbers of people in re-education camps for political and cultural indoctrination.
Amnesty International said in a report on Monday that Beijing had rolled out "an intensifying government campaign of mass internment, intrusive surveillance, political indoctrination and forced cultural assimilation".
Beijing has rejected UN estimates that more than a million members of Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps.
China says its restrictions on Muslim minorities, including ubiquitous police checkpoints and video surveillance, are intended to combat what it calls Islamic extremism and separatist elements in the far western province.
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