New human rights report documents the escalating situation of the Uyghur people – the Chancellor should advocate for a release of imprisoned human rights activists

This Thursday, in the course of a press conference in Berlin, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) will present the STP's new 40-page human rights report on the escalation of the situation in north-western China since the serious unrest in Urumqi on July 5, 2009. The human rights organizations will ask Chancellor Angela Merkel – who is expected in China on the day of the 5th anniversary of the bloody conflict with more than 200 deaths – to advocate for the release of the imprisoned Uyghur human rights activists and to work towards an end to the violence.

The fate of hundreds of Uyghurs who disappeared five years ago is still unknown. Meanwhile, the tensions between the Uyghurs and the Han Chinese in Xinjiang province, which the Uyghur inhabitants call East Turkistan, have increased dramatically, with new outbreaks of violence every week. The Chinese authorities react rigorously. Last Sunday, 113 Uyghurs were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

We cordially invite you to attend our press conference with:

- Asgar Can, Vice-President of the World Uyghur Congress, Munich

- Ulrich Delius, Asia-consultant of the Society for Threatened Peoples, Göttingen

on Thursday, July 3, 2014 at 11:00 am

Theatercafé im Palais am Festungsgraben

Am Festungsgraben 1

10117 Berlin