Thaindian News

London, Oct 21 (ANI): China is facing calls to provide accurate information about the whereabouts of up to 1,000 people who were detained following the riots between the Uighur minority and the Han Chinese majority in the restive western province of Xinjiang last July.

Most of those missing were rounded up during the sweep operations conducted by Chinese security forces as they struggled to regain control of the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi in the days after the riots that left 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured.

A report by the Human Rights Watch has documented 43 cases where the families of those detained still have no knowledge of their loved-one’s, despite making repeated enquiries, The Telegraph reported.

“The cases we documented are likely just the tip of the iceberg,” said Brad Adams, the Asia Director of Human Rights Watch.

“China should only use official places of detention, so that everyone being held can contact family members and legal counsel. Disappearing people is not the behaviour of countries aspiring to global leadership,” said Adams.

The 44-page report highlights the often-contradictory statements issued by the Chinese authorities about the numbers of those detained in security sweeps, the paper said

Within 24 hours of the riots concluding, officials said 1,434 had been detained, however in subsequent announcements numbers varied from 253, to 319 to 718 detainees, making it impossible for outsiders to make accurate assessment of the numbers, the paper added.

Similarly the official Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, has published contradictory reports about the numbers charged since the riots.

The paper reported that in the days after the riots, Uighur residents, described in detail security sweeps targeting young Uighur males as they sought to round up the perpetrators of the often brutal violence that took place on July 5-7. (ANI)