China accused of holding up to 30 relatives of exiled Uygur leader
Members of Rebiya Kadeer’s family held in the restive region of Xinjiang, says Amnesty International
The authorities in China’s far western region of Xinjiang have detained up to 30 relatives of an exiled ethnic Uygur leader, Rebiya Kadeer, the rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
It was not possible to independently verify the report.
Xinjiang, where hundreds have died in recent years in violence between majority Han Chinese and ethnic Uygurs who call Xinjiang home, is under tight security and independent reporting there is difficult.
Uygurs are a mostly Muslim people who speak a Turkic language.
A Xinjiang government news department official declined to comment, saying she was unaware of the report. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kadeer is a former political prisoner in China accused of leaking state secrets in 1999. She was later allowed to leave on medical grounds and lives in the United States. She is president of the World Uighur Congress.