More repression and proceedings against alleged terrorists – China's government must rethink to stop violence

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands an end to the persecution of Uyghur human rights activists in order to stop violence from spreading in north-western China. "China's authorities must release the dozens of Uyghur bloggers, journalists, scientists and human rights activists who are detained for political reasons. Also, there must be credible attempts towards a dialogue with the Uyghurs – and the restrictions of their freedom of religion must be reversed," said the STP's Asia correspondent, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Saturday. "For the increasing violence is also a consequence of the increased repression by the security forces."

39 people got killed in politically motivated violence in the conflict region of Xinjiang since the beginning of January 2014, and at least 254 people died in clashes between the Chinese security forces and the local Uyghur population since the beginning of 2013. Yesterday, 15 people (including 11 Uyghurs) died when a group of Uyghurs attacked a police convoy in Uchturpan (Aksu district).

Arrests of well-known activists – such as the economist Ilham Tohti, who was arrested on January 15, 2014 – clearly show that the Chinese government has intensified its measures against peaceful human rights activists. In 2013, according to estimates, the number of court proceedings based on "endangering State Security" in the Autonomous Region has increased by ten percent in comparison the previous year. With 296 criminal cases, there is no other region in China where so many people are sent to court for national security offenses as in East Turkestan. In the Tibet Autonomous Region, only 20 Tibetans had to face similar charges in 2013. Around 60 percent of these legal proceedings are pending in the City of Kashgar, a traditional Uyghur village in East Turkestan with a comparatively small percentage of Han Chinese.

Arbitrary arrests, such as in the case of Uyghur blogger and human rights activist Abduweli Ayub, are contributing to the cycle of violence in the crisis region. In August 2013, the 39-year-old father was arrested in Kashgar because he had collected donations for a Uyghur school. The Uyghurs are trying to establish independent schools to ensure that their children can be taught in their native language – so as not to let the Uyghur language be replaced by Chinese completely. The human rights activist was arrested together with his two comrades Dilyar Obul and Muhemmet Sidik. The three activists are facing long prison sentences.