18.12.2007
Chinese embassy spokesman responds to concerns about the health of Rebiya Kadeer's son in Voice of America news report
For immediate release
December 17, 2007, 6:45 PM EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496
In a Voice of America (VOA) Chinese-language news report dated December 13, 2007 (
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2007-12-13-voa59.cfm), Chinese Embassy spokesman Wang Baodong was quoted as having responded via e-mail to questions from a VOA reporter regarding the grave medical condition of Rebiya Kadeer’s son Ablikim Abdureyim. Ablikim, whose imprisonment is widely viewed in the international community as retribution for Ms. Kadeer’s continued human rights activisim, is currently serving nine years in prison on charges of secessionism.
In the VOA report, spokesman Wang reportedly stated that “inmates in Chinese prisons have the right to receive medical treatment according to the law when they become ill.” The report also quotes Wang as saying that “all prisoners must willingly abide by prison regulations, or they will be subjected to the appropriate punishment, as is the case in the United States.” Wang was responding to questions from a VOA reporter regarding Ablikim’s serious physical ailments, which were detailed in a December 12 press release from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP).
It is unclear if Wang’s statement refers to any alleged violation of prison regulations on the part of Ablikim, who reportedly appeared extremely frail and seriously ill to visiting family members on December 6. This was the first time family members had been allowed to visit Ablikim since his initial detention more than 18 months earlier. When questioned around the time of the visit, Chinese police attributed Ablikim’s serious health problems to a heart condition, and suggested that this condition could become worse if he continued to refuse to “cooperate with authorities” and “admit his criminal guilt.”
Wang is further quoted as repudiating UHRP’s claims that Ablikim had been tortured in prison. He stated that “Chinese law prohibits the use of torture and physical abuse against prisoners”. He refers to Ms. Kadeer as an “East Turkestan splittist who, in order to achieve the political goal of splitting Xinjiang from China, frequently disseminates various types of lies to smear the Chinese government and gain the sympathy of other countries.”
During a visit to China in late 2005, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak found that torture was widespread throughout the Chinese penal system, despite Beijing’s outlawing of torture in 1996. In addition, East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), where Ablikim is being imprisoned, remains the only region in the People’s Republic of China where individuals have in recent years been executed for non-violent crimes of political opposition to the Chinese state.
According to an April 17, 2007 report from the official Xinhua news agency, Ablikim’s “secessionist activities” chiefly consisted of asking Yahoo’s “Uyghur-language webmaster” to post articles on its website. However, to UHRP’s knowledge, there is no Uyghur-language Yahoo website.
UHRP calls upon the PRC authorities to transfer Ablikim to a medical facility outside of the Chinese prison system to ensure he receives proper care, in accordance with international standards and regulations.
See also:
Rebiya Kadeer's imprisoned son in urgent need of medical treatment:
House of Representatives calls on the PRC to release Rebiya Kadeer’s children and Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil:
Son of Rebiya Kadeer sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of "secessionism":
Rebiya Kadeer’s son sentenced to seven years; another fined; another feared tortured:
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The Uyghur American Association (UAA) works to promote the preservation and flourishing of a rich, humanistic and diverse Uyghur culture, and to support the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, democratic means to determine their own political future.
The UAA has undertaken the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) for the purpose of promoting improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs and other indigenous groups in East Turkistan, on the premise that the assurance of basic human rights will facilitate the realization of the community’s democratic aspirations.
Uyghur Human Rights Project
Uyghur American Association
1700 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: +1 (202) 349 1496
Fax: +1 (202) 349 1491
info[at]uhrp.org
www.uhrp.org
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