Rayhanul Abliz has not heard from her parents in China for over two years and is concerned they may have been detained by the Chinese government in the far western province of Xinjiang.
“I miss them, I hope they are not in the camps,” Ms Abliz, who lives in Melbourne, told SBS News.
Ms Abliz has spoken publicly about her fears for her 70-year-old father and 66-year-old mother for the first time after newly-leaked documents revealed the extent to which the Chinese government is closely monitoring the Muslim-minority group.
The documents, obtained by German broadcaster , the and , detail the reasons why the government sent 331 Uighurs from Karakax County in Xinjiang to so called “re-education camps”.
Ms Abliz has not heard from her 66-year-old mother for two years. Source: Rayhangul Abliz
Ms Abliz said she is glad the truth of what the Chinese government is doing to the Uighur community is being made public.
“They put monitors everywhere, check people’s phones, even let people go out of contact, everything is controlled,” she said.
The Chinese government has maintained the “voluntary” camps are part of its response to Islamic extremism.
Ms Abliz's missing father is 70 years old. Source: Rayhangul Abliz
The government claims those detained are taught Mandarin and receive job training which then helps them integrate into society and avoid extremist ideas.
A statement the Chinese Embassy in Australia reiterated to SBS News: “Issues about Xinjiang are never about human rights or religion.”
“They are about countering separatism and violent terrorism, " the embassy said.
But the 137-page spreadsheet leaked today shows the Chinese government has been using facial recognition technology to monitor every move of the Uighur population, from when they pray, to what they eat and even the clothing they wear.
Rayhanul Abliz is speaking publicly about her concerns for her parents in Xinjiang for the first time. Source: SBS News
Xinjiang expert Adrian Zenz has studied the documents and told SBS News he believes they are genuine because the detail they contain, including the government's reasons for detaining individuals.
“This leak really puts a personal face on this incredible detention campaign, it really gives us the fate of hundreds of individuals and their family members, it even gives us examples,” he said.
“It says, for example, that somebody was detained simply because their wife was wearing a veil between 2012 and 2014, or because they simply applied for a passport but never left the country.”
Other reasons for why hundreds of Uighurs from Karakax county in Xinjiang were detained included having too many children, drinking alcohol, having relatives that live abroad or because they had a beard.
The latest documents also include notes on whether those detained should be released or remain, evidence which refutes the Chinese government’s claims individuals choose to be in the training centres.
Asiye Abdulaheb, an exiled Uighur living in Amsterdam, received the documents and leaked them to Western media.
Reason's given by the Chinese government to detain people from Karakax County Source: Karakax List report by Adrian Zenz
She said while she is aware of the danger her actions have put her in, she felt it was her duty to make it publicly known what the Chinese government is doing.
“Of course I am worried about the safety of my relatives and friends, but if everyone keeps silent because they want to protect themselves then we will never prevent these crimes from being committed,” she told the BBC.
Rozinsa Mamattohti and her family who live in Xinjiang found out through the leak that her 34-year-old sister, Patem, was sent to a camp in 2018 for allegedly violating China’s child policy.
Exiled Uighur Asiye Abdulaheb leaked the documents. Source: Beeld Aurelie Geurts
“When I saw the document, and learned that my young sister was in prison for the past two years – I was really sad” she said.
“For days I couldn't sleep. I was really shocked and sad about her arrest.”
Over 60 per cent of those detained in the camps are between the ages of 20 and 60, with the government document also describing those born between 1980 and the year 2000 as “worrisome” and “untrustworthy”.
Uighur in Karakax County, Rozinsa Mamattohti, found her name in the leaked document. Source: CNN
Mr Zenz said the documents offer a look inside the Chinese government’s ideology and approach to religion.
“This document proves how China is persecuting its religious minority in clear and blatant violation of its own constitution, which guarantees the right to believe in a religion,” he said.
The latest leak, dubbed the Karakax List, is the third time internal Chinese government documents detailing the treatment of Uighurs have been published.
Ethnic Uighur Muslim Source: AAP
It follows the New York Times publishing , which similarly illustrated the surveillance crackdown on the Muslim minority within the western Xinjiang region in November last year.
