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Uyghur News Recap: January 20-26, 2022


FILE - People from China's Uyghur Muslim ethnic group protest outside the city's Turkish Olympic Committee building, calling for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing over China's treatment of the minority, in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 23, 2022.
FILE - People from China's Uyghur Muslim ethnic group protest outside the city's Turkish Olympic Committee building, calling for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing over China's treatment of the minority, in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 23, 2022.

Here is a summary of Uyghur-related news around the world in the past week.

French lawmakers: Condemn China's treatment of Uyghurs

Reuters reported that the French parliament passed a motion asking its government to recognize China's treatment of Uyghurs as crimes against humanity and genocide.

Five Uyghur women jailed for attending sermon

An RFA investigation of a Chinese court verdict revealed that five Uyghur women from the same family were sentenced to between seven and 20 years in prison for attending a sermon.

Uyghur bombing suspects complain of treatment in Thai custody

RFA reported that two Uyghur men arrested in Thailand in 2015 and accused of involvement in the bombing of a Hindu shrine in Bangkok said they were not allowed to see the sky and sometimes were fed pork despite their Muslim faith.

Uyghur activists in Turkey call for boycott of Beijing Olympics

Dozens of Uyghurs protested outside the Turkish Olympic Committee building calling for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs.

Two Uyghur sisters sentenced for religious activities

An RFA investigation confirmed that two Uyghur sisters were sentenced to seven and 20 years in prison in 2019 for attending a religious gathering in 2013.

Group wants blacklist of entities involved in Uyghur rights abuses

A group of 35 legislators from different countries called on their governments to set up a blacklist of entities related to "perpetrating atrocities in the Uyghur region" of China.

News in brief

Through an investigation with Chinese local officials, RFA confirmed that a 78-year-old Uyghur widow has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. She was convicted of inciting ethnic discrimination and disturbing the public order for allegedly attending and providing the venue for a religious gathering. The woman was serving her jail term with her two daughters, who also had been convicted of the same crime, in a prison in northern Xinjiang, RFA was able to confirm with interviews with Chinese prison officials.

Quote of note

"China does not have the right to host the Olympics while committing all the torture, cruelty and genocide against Uyghurs."
— Munevver Ozuygur, a Uyghur housewife who said she had relatives in camps in China

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