Inside Story

Is China holding Uighur Muslims in secret camps?

US politicians have called for sanctions against Chinese officials after reports of torture and indoctrination.

China has been accused of detaining more than a million Uighur Muslims in what UN human rights experts say resembles “a massive internment camp, shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no-rights zone”.

The camps are believed to be in the western region of Xinjiang. China denies such camps exist, but says criminals involved in minor offences are sent to what it calls “vocational education and employment training centres” to help with their reintegration into society.

About 10 million Uighur live mostly in Xinjiang. China says its crackdown there is to protect peace and prevent what it calls terrorism.

There have been ethnic riots in recent years and Uighur separatists have been blamed for several attacks, including one in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 2013.

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Andrew Leung – international and independent China Strategist

Andreas Fulda – China expert at the University of Nottingham’s Asia Research Institute

Adrian Zenz – expert on China’s minority policy