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Amnesty International urgent action:
Kazakstan/China
PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 57/002/2006
27 June 2006
Further Information on 100/06 (EUR 57/001/2006, 25
April 2006) Forcible return/torture/death penalty New
Concern: incommunicado detention
KAZAKSTAN/CHINA Yusuf Kadir Tohti (also known as
Erdagan) (m), aged 35, Abdukadir Sidik (m), aged 30
Yusuf Kadir Tohti and Abdukadir Sidik, who are
originally from China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region (XUAR), are being held in incommunicado
detention in China after being forcibly returned from
Kazakstan on 10 May. They are at risk of serious human
rights violations, including torture or other
ill-treatment, and possibly the death penalty if their
"crimes" are deemed to be "serious".
The Kazakstani authorities deported the two men from
Almaty, Kazakstan to Urumqi, China following 'a
decision by the specialized administrative court of
Almaty for violation of rules of stay in Kazakstan'.
Yusuf Kadir Tohti reportedly fled from China to
Kazakstan in 1996 and was reportedly arrested on 8
March 2006 by the Kazakstani authorities. The Chinese
authorities reportedly accused him of “separatism” and
asked for his extradition. Abdukadir Sidik fled the
XUAR in 1999 after he publicly protested against the
Chinese authorities’ policy on minorities,
particularly their enforcement of the family planning
policy which limited the number of children that
Uighurs could have. He was charged by the Kazakstani
authorities with illegally crossing the border and
sentenced to six months' imprisonment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Over recent years, Amnesty International has monitored
growing numbers of forced returns of Uighurs to China
from several of its neighbouring countries, including
those of Central Asia, such as Kazakstan. In some
recent cases, returnees are reported to have been
subjected to serious human rights violations,
including torture, unfair trials and even execution.
The Chinese authorities have been mounting a crackdown
on the “three evil forces” of “separatist, terrorist
and religious extremists” in the XUAR. It has resulted
in serious and widespread human rights violations
directed against the region’s Uighur community,
prompting many of them to flee the country.
The death penalty is used extensively and often
arbitrarily in China. Based on public reports
available, Amnesty International estimated that at
least 1,770 people were executed and 3,900 sentenced
to death in 2005. The true figures, which are
classified as a "state secret", are believed to be
much higher. A Chinese legal expert was recently
quoted as stating the true figure for executions to be
approximately 8,000 per year. Over recent years,
Amnesty International has documented several cases of
Uighurs being sentenced to death and executed in the
XUAR for alleged "separatist" or "terrorist"
activities.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible to the Chinese authorities, in
English, Chinese or your own language:
- expressing concern for the safety of Yusuf Kadir
Tohti and Abdukadir Sidik who are being held in
incommunicado detention and requesting information
about their whereabouts;
- calling on the Chinese authorities to guarantee the
safety of Yusuf Kadir Tohti and Abdukadir Sidik and to
give them access to lawyers of their choice and to
members of their family;
- calling for guarantees that the men will be treated
humanely in detention, and will not be tortured or
ill-treated, sentenced to death or executed;
- urging that they be released immediately unless
charged with an internationally recognizable criminal
offence.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China
WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council
9 Xihuangcheng Genbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65292345 (c/o Ministry of Communication)
Email: gazette@mail.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency
Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional
People's Government
Ismail TILIWALDI Zhuxi
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
2 Zhongshanlu
Wulumuqishi 830041
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Email: master@xinjiang.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Chairman
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send final rounds of
appeals to the Kasakstani authorities to arrive as
quickly as possible, in Kazak, Russian, English or
your own language:
- expressing alarm at the forcible return of Yusuf
Kadir Tohti and Abdukadir Sidik on 10 May, in
contravention of the principle of non-refoulement,
which prohibits the return in any manner whatsoever of
any person to a situation where they would be at risk
of torture, persecution or other forms of
ill-treatment or punishment;
- calling on the authorities to end the forcible
return of any person to a country where they are at
risk of serious human rights abuses, in accordance
with Kazakstan’s international obligations;
- urging the Kazakstani authorities to request from
the Chinese authorities information about the men’s
whereabouts and their well-being and to provide you
with such information.
APPEALS TO:
President of the Republic of Kazakstan
Kazakstan, 473000 Astana, ul. Beybitshilik 11,
Prezidentu NAZARBAEVU N.
Fax: +7 3172 32 40 89
Email: via the President's website: http://www.akorda.kz/page.php?page_id=185&lang=2
Salutation: Dear President
COPIES TO:
Chairman of the Kazakstan National Security Committee
Kazakstan, Astana, ul. Kenesary 97/98, Komitet
natsionalnoi bezopasnosti, Predsedatelyu
Fax: +7 3172 32 80 50
and to diplomatic representatives of Kazakstan/China
accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the
International Secretariat, or your section office, if
sending appeals after 8 August 2006....
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