'Beijing persecuting practices of religious beliefs'

ANKARA

New details about the persecution of Uighurs in China have come to the fore in a report by the BBC.

The report shows a document leaked from internment camps where ethnic Uighur Muslims are held by China in its western Xinjiang region.

The document, believed to have been revealed by the same source who leaked several documents of similar nature late last year, shows personal details of more than 3,000 individuals held in camps.

The report said that the document reveals “intricate detail” and “most intimate aspects” of the detained Uighurs daily lives.

The document is more or less the complete profile of 311 main individuals. It mentions their backgrounds, religious habits, and relationships with many hundreds of relatives, neighbors and friends.

“Verdicts written in a final column decide whether those already in internment should remain or be released, and whether some of those previously released need to return,” the report said.

Last year, the U.S.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed China Cables that "included a classified list of guidelines" approved by top Chinese officials for running camps and a “massive data collection and analysis system that uses artificial intelligence” to help round up suspect residents in the far western region.

The document includes 137 pages which allow Chinese authorities to see how often people pray, how they dress, whom they contact and how their family members behave.

The new revelations contradict claims made by Chinese authorities that the internment camps are “merely training camps or schools”.

When contacted, Chinese officials denied any wrongdoing saying the country was “combating terrorism and religious extremism”.

"This remarkable document presents the strongest evidence I've seen to date that Beijing is actively persecuting and punishing normal practices of traditional religious beliefs," said Adrian Zenz of Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington.

“It allows a glimpse inside the minds of those making the decisions,” Zenz said about the document.