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A facility believed to be a re-education camp north of Akto in China's north-western Xinjiang region is shown in this photo taken on Jun 4, 2019. (File photo by= AFP/Greg Baker) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] LONDON: On Friday (Jun 4), a panel of United Kingdom-based lawyers and rights experts investigating the plight of Uyghurs in China will begin hearing evidence from witnesses, while Beijing branded it a "machine producing lies", AFP reported.
The "Uyghur Tribunal" says that its nine jurors will hear firsthand testimony of alleged crimes in the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang, including forced sterilization, torture, disappearances, and slave labor. The organization, which has no state backing, plans to use the London hearings to issue a verdict on whether Beijing has perpetrated genocide or crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups in China. Tribunal vice-chair Nick Vetch declined to comment on China's heated attacks. But promised that it would be "impartial", based on evidence sessions this week and in September, and on "thousands of pages" of documentary evidence already amassed.
The tribunal plans to deliver its report in December, and while it would have no legal force, participants hope to draw international attention and spur possible action. It was set up at the request of the World Uyghur Congress, the largest group representing exiled Uyghurs.China hasn't held back in condemning the tribunal. Meanwhile, Last week, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said "It is not even a real tribunal or special court, but only a special machine producing lies. "