United Kingdom public tribunal to probe Uighur 'genocide' claims
London: A prominent British human rights lawyer is convening an independent tribunal in London to investigate whether the Chinese government's alleged rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in the far western Xinjiang region constitute genocide or crimes against humanity.
The tribunal is expected to reveal new evidence and testimony over several days' hearings next year. While the tribunal does not have government backing, it is the latest attempt to hold China accountable for its treatment of the Uighurs and ethnic Turkic minorities, who have been subject to an unprecedented crackdown since 2017.
Barrister Geoffrey Nice, who previously led the prosecution of ex-Serbian President, Slobodan Milosevic over the Balkans war and worked with the International Criminal Court, was asked by the World Uighur Congress to investigate ongoing atrocities and possible genocide against the Uighur people.
Allegations against China about potential genocide are questions that should be asked and answered but such claims have never been legally scrutinized in public, Nice told The Associated Press.
Organisers are in the initial stages of gathering evidence, and expect to receive a substantial number of submissions from Uighurs exiled abroad over the next few months.
New evidence that may emerge includes testimony from several former security guards who were involved in the Xinjiang detention camps.
At the moment, the strongest evidence would appear to be evidence of incarceration and possibly evidence of enforced sterilization, Nice said.
A recent investigation by the AP found that the Chinese government is systematically forcing birth control on Uighurs and other Muslims in an apparent effort to reduce their population.
The report found that authorities regularly subject minority women to pregnancy checks and force intrauterine devices, sterilisation and abortion on hundreds of thousands.
While scores have been thrown in detention camps for alleged religious extremism, many others were sent to the camps simply for having too many children.
Such enforced sterilization practices could breach the Genocide Convention, Nice said.
The Chinese Embassy in London did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Chinese officials have repeatedly derided allegations of rights abuses in Xinjiang as fabricated, and insist that all ethnicities are treated equally.
China has long suspected the Uighurs, who are mostly Muslim, of harbouring separatist tendencies because of their distinct culture, language and religion.
In a lengthy press conference in August, the Chinese ambassador to the U.K. played graphic videos of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang to show that the Chinese government's measures there are necessary and important.
Ambassador Liu Xiaoming also called allegations about rights abuses in Xinjiang made in Western media lies of the century," and denied that nearly 1 million Uighurs have been detained in Xinjiang.
The London tribunal's judgement is not binding on any government. However, Nice said the process will nonetheless be one way to address the lack of action in tackling the alleged abuses by filling the gap with reliable information.
There is no other way of bringing the leadership of the (Chinese) Communist Party collectively or individually to judgement, Nice said.
In July, lawyers representing exiled Uighur activists filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against China, asking the court in The Hague, Netherlands, to investigate the forced repatriation of thousands of Uighurs from Cambodia and Tajikistan and alleged genocide in Xinjiang.
However, Beijing does not recognize the international court's jurisdiction, and Nice who is not involved in that case said it will likely focus more on the repatriating countries' culpability and less on that of Chinese authorities.
The World Uighur Congress, an international organization representing Uighur exiles, has provided initial evidence and funding to the London tribunal. Organisers expect to hold two public hearings in London next year.
The tribunal will comprise of at least seven members who will act as jury.
They include British property businessman Nicholas Vetch, one of the organizers. A verdict is expected by the end of 2021.
Joanne Smith Finley at Newcastle University, an expert on Uighur studies, said the tribunal's findings may help pressure governments to impose sanctions such as bans on cotton from Xinjiang.
It does not have any true legal teeth in the sense that its determination will not be able to force any government to take any kind of action, she said.
However, I do think that its determination will be important in terms of putting pressure on the U.K. government and hopefully also other governments to take clear measures to persuade China to desist from these abuses.
Darren Byler, an academic at the University of Colorado, said an independent investigation would add a new perspective to the prevailing U.S.-centric reaction to the issue.
So far the world response to what is happening to the Uighurs and Kazakhs in northwest China has been largely confined to unilateral actions by the United States and been associated with President Trump's more general anti-China position, Byler said.
In July, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on three senior Chinese Communist Party officials for alleged human rights abuses targeting Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other minorities in Xinjiang, including mass detentions and forced population control.
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New Year stabbings rock Delhi, leave 3 dead
New Delhi (PTI): The New Year evening was streaked with blood with three almost back-to-back stabbings leaving an equal number of people dead in Delhi.
Bihari Lal, 50, was allegedly stabbed in an attack by a group of juveniles when he asked them to stop shouting and playing loud music in northwest Delhi's Lal Bagh area.
A tailor by profession, Bihari Lal had just returned home Thursday evening from his job in Shastri Nagar, when he was faced with a raucous mob of revellers, whom he chastised for making noise.
"This led to a heated exchange, during which one of the juveniles stabbed Lal," a police officer said, adding that one of the boys kicked the victim several times during the fight.
Bihari Lal was rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Police apprehended a juvenile in connection with the killing and seized the weapon of the crime. A hunt for the rest involved in the fight is on.
An FIR was registered at the Adarsh Nagar Police Station, and investigators are examining eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage from the area.
Bihari Lal's family and neighbours alleged that the group was notorious for creating disturbance in the area.
"He had just returned from duty and was parking his cycle when they came and started abusing everyone, throwing buckets, boxes and people's belongings. Bihari Lal only told them not to use abusive language and shout, as there were women and children around. That was all he said," Dimple, a neighbour, recounted.
Pushpa, a relative, alleged that the group had been terrorising residents for some time. "They keep throwing bottles, stones and sticks, and nobody does anything. We complained earlier, but no action was taken. The police never did anything," she said.
Pushpa said four boys were involved in the attack and "they stabbed him three times."
Hours later, in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri, an e-rickshaw driver, Vikas, was stabbed in a fight.
According to police, Vikas and his friend Sandeep, a daily-wage labourer, both aged 20, were sitting together when a group of youths started a fight with them.
"During the altercation, one of the accused stabbed Vikas, causing fatal injuries. Sandeep also suffered a minor lacerated wound," an officer said.
Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where Vikas was declared dead.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the victims and the attackers had bad blood, police said.
All six accused, four of them underage, involved in the stabbing were apprehended, police said.
The same evening, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death in nearby Sultanpuri.
Around 11.30 pm, police were informed that a group of men had attacked a minor with a knife.
"A police team rushed to the spot and found the injured boy lying on the road with multiple stab wounds," an officer said.
The victim, whose identity was not revealed by the police, was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
Vikram, a man aged about 30 with a history of crime, was arrested for allegedly killing the boy.
During interrogation, Vikram, who police said has six criminal convictions, revealed that two more men were with him at the time of the stabbing. A search for them has been launched.
The boy's mother said her son had been threatened several times before by the attackers, but police took no action.
"My son had gone out only to get some juice when a few people started abusing him, and a fight broke out. I ran downstairs from my sister's house and begged them not to harm my son. Instead, they took out a knife and attacked me. I somehow ran into a shop, where I saw my son being stabbed in front of my eyes," the boy's mother, Bali, said.
She said that the accused had earlier also entered her house armed with weapons. "I informed the police, but no action was taken."
The boy was her only son.
The motive of the killing is yet to be ascertained by the police.
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