De la barbe à la plainte au sujet du porno: voici les excuses fragiles utilisées par la Chine pour jeter des musulmans ouïghours dans des camps de prisonniers
From growing a beard to complaining about porn: Here are the flimsy excuses China uses to throw Uighur Muslims into prison camps
Alexandra Ma
xinjiang uighur man police
A police officer checks a Uighur man's ID documents in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in March 2017. Thomas Peter/Reuters
China has imprisoned at least one million Uighur Muslims in prisons and detention camps in recent years, claiming that their religion could lead to terrorism.
Authorities have used a slew of bizarre and draconian reasons to lock Uighurs up.
They include growing a beard, talking to people in foreign countries, and complaining about people's porn habits.
Scroll down to see a list of excuses China has given to lock people up.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic minority in China, are subject to some of the most severe surveillance and repression in the country's history.
Around one million of them are reportedly imprisoned in detention centers or prisons in the western region of Xinjiang, where most of them live. Uighurs refer to the region as East Turkestan.
The detentions are part of China's hardline counterterrorism policy in the region, which purports to clamp down on religious radicalism. Beijing sees Uighurs' religion as a threat, and often conflates Islam with extremism.
As part of this crackdown, China has used a slew of flimsy and draconian reasons to lock Uighurs up — from growing a beard, to talking to people in foreign countries, to complaining about people's porn habits.
Scroll down to see some of the most bizarre excuses China has allegedly used to imprison Uighurs.
Setting clocks to two hours after Beijing time.
china clocks
A Chinese wholesaler at a trade fair in Yiwu, China, in September 2015. The whole of China — whose land mass is about 9.6 square kilometers — follows one official time zone. Kevin Frayer/Getty
One man was arrested and detained for being a terrorist suspect because he set his watch to "Urumqi time," an unofficial time zone set two hours behind Beijing's, Human Rights Watch said in a wide-ranging report published last year.
China has one official time zone for the entire country — China Standard Time (CST) — which follows Beijing hours. But because the country is so big, Beijing is actually two hours ahead of the natural daylight schedule in Xinjiang, which is in the west.
Setting clocks to "Urumqi time" is therefore seen as a form of resistance against the Chinese Communist Party.
Going to religious gatherings — because China sees Uighurs' religion as a threat.
Muslims pray at a mosque during Ramadan in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, July 6, 2015. Picture taken July 6, 2015 REUTERS/China Daily
Muslims pray at a mosque during Ramadan in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Apparently this can get you detained. Thomson Reuters
China frequently refers to Islamic beliefs as extremist ideology, and likens the religion to a cancer or disease.
The atheist Communist Party also tightly controls religion in the country, only allowing citizens to practise if their sect is officially sanctioned by the government.
Hoshur, a Uighur man from southern Xinjiang, told Human Rights Watch that his mother and 20 other women in their 60s were detained and charged with "attending a religious gathering" at their neighbors' house in 2013.
Showing distinct markers of Islam, like having a beard or wearing a veil.
Xinjiang Uighur China
A Uighur man has his beard trimmed after prayers in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in June 2017. It's not clear whether this trimming was voluntary or not. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
China has prohibited the distinct markers of Islam, such as growing long beards and wearing veils in public, since at least 2017.
Erkin, a Uighur who was previously held in a political education camp, confirmed to Human Rights Watch that not following those rules is a cause for detention.
"There was an [ethnic] Uighur, who was our leader" in the detention camp cell, Erkin said. "He'd been detained for having a beard."
A 23-year-old Muslim Uighur, identified by the pseudonym Guli, also told The Guardian that she was interrogated by local authorities because they heard reports that she wore a hijab and prayed. She was later sent to a detention center for eight days, although her charge is not clear.
While detained Guli added that she had met a woman was imprisoned because police found a message saying "Happy Eid" on her phone.
Sharing Islamic beliefs, like telling people to stay away from porn.
Xinjiang enthinc detention atrocities
An armed Chinese police officer guarding a street near a detention center, or "vocational education center," in Yining, Xinjiang, in September 2018. Thomas Peter / REUTERS
One Uighur man was imprisoned in Qakilik County, southeastern Xinjiang, in 2018 for "the crime of incitement of ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination," a leaked court document published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) said.
The man's name was redacted. Qakilik County is also known as Ruoqiang in Chinese.
His alleged crimes included telling his colleagues to pray, not to watch porn, and not to accept food from people who smoke or drink alcohol.
Here's what he told his colleagues, according to the court documents:
"Do not say dirty words, do not watch porn, or you will become a kafir." Kafir is an Arabic word that means "non-believer" or "infidel."
"If you don't pray and watch porn, your soul will not be clean for 40 days and God will not accept your prayers."
"If you eat without praying, you will become a kafir. If you do not pray, you will be in hell and God will not forgive you."
China's apparent encouragement of watching porn is ironic because the government has reportedly ordered video-streaming sites to censor footage of "flirtatious" dancing and being shirtless in the past. Authorities had called those actions "obscene."
Exhibiting other Muslim behaviors and practices, such as not serving alcohol in restaurants.
xinjiang uighur pray
Erkin, the former detainee, told Human Rights Watch: "I know three restaurant owners [who] ran 'Islamic' restaurants — they got detained because they don't allow smoking or drinking in their restaurants."
The unidentified Uighur man who was sentenced to prison for allegedly inciting "ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination" had also told his colleagues not to accept food from "women who do not pray" or "people who smoke and drink alcohol," the court document said.
Another Uighur who had been detained, identified by the pseudonym Nur, told Human Rights Watch last year that he met a man who got locked up because "because he told his neighbor that they shouldn't drink because they are Muslims."
From growing a beard to complaining about porn: Here are the flimsy excuses China uses to throw Uighur Muslims into prison camps
Alexandra Ma
xinjiang uighur man police
A police officer checks a Uighur man's ID documents in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in March 2017. Thomas Peter/Reuters
China has imprisoned at least one million Uighur Muslims in prisons and detention camps in recent years, claiming that their religion could lead to terrorism.
Authorities have used a slew of bizarre and draconian reasons to lock Uighurs up.
They include growing a beard, talking to people in foreign countries, and complaining about people's porn habits.
Scroll down to see a list of excuses China has given to lock people up.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic minority in China, are subject to some of the most severe surveillance and repression in the country's history.
Around one million of them are reportedly imprisoned in detention centers or prisons in the western region of Xinjiang, where most of them live. Uighurs refer to the region as East Turkestan.
The detentions are part of China's hardline counterterrorism policy in the region, which purports to clamp down on religious radicalism. Beijing sees Uighurs' religion as a threat, and often conflates Islam with extremism.
As part of this crackdown, China has used a slew of flimsy and draconian reasons to lock Uighurs up — from growing a beard, to talking to people in foreign countries, to complaining about people's porn habits.
Scroll down to see some of the most bizarre excuses China has allegedly used to imprison Uighurs.
Setting clocks to two hours after Beijing time.
china clocks
A Chinese wholesaler at a trade fair in Yiwu, China, in September 2015. The whole of China — whose land mass is about 9.6 square kilometers — follows one official time zone. Kevin Frayer/Getty
One man was arrested and detained for being a terrorist suspect because he set his watch to "Urumqi time," an unofficial time zone set two hours behind Beijing's, Human Rights Watch said in a wide-ranging report published last year.
China has one official time zone for the entire country — China Standard Time (CST) — which follows Beijing hours. But because the country is so big, Beijing is actually two hours ahead of the natural daylight schedule in Xinjiang, which is in the west.
Setting clocks to "Urumqi time" is therefore seen as a form of resistance against the Chinese Communist Party.
Going to religious gatherings — because China sees Uighurs' religion as a threat.
Muslims pray at a mosque during Ramadan in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, July 6, 2015. Picture taken July 6, 2015 REUTERS/China Daily
Muslims pray at a mosque during Ramadan in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Apparently this can get you detained. Thomson Reuters
China frequently refers to Islamic beliefs as extremist ideology, and likens the religion to a cancer or disease.
The atheist Communist Party also tightly controls religion in the country, only allowing citizens to practise if their sect is officially sanctioned by the government.
Hoshur, a Uighur man from southern Xinjiang, told Human Rights Watch that his mother and 20 other women in their 60s were detained and charged with "attending a religious gathering" at their neighbors' house in 2013.
Showing distinct markers of Islam, like having a beard or wearing a veil.
Xinjiang Uighur China
A Uighur man has his beard trimmed after prayers in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in June 2017. It's not clear whether this trimming was voluntary or not. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
China has prohibited the distinct markers of Islam, such as growing long beards and wearing veils in public, since at least 2017.
Erkin, a Uighur who was previously held in a political education camp, confirmed to Human Rights Watch that not following those rules is a cause for detention.
"There was an [ethnic] Uighur, who was our leader" in the detention camp cell, Erkin said. "He'd been detained for having a beard."
A 23-year-old Muslim Uighur, identified by the pseudonym Guli, also told The Guardian that she was interrogated by local authorities because they heard reports that she wore a hijab and prayed. She was later sent to a detention center for eight days, although her charge is not clear.
While detained Guli added that she had met a woman was imprisoned because police found a message saying "Happy Eid" on her phone.
Sharing Islamic beliefs, like telling people to stay away from porn.
Xinjiang enthinc detention atrocities
An armed Chinese police officer guarding a street near a detention center, or "vocational education center," in Yining, Xinjiang, in September 2018. Thomas Peter / REUTERS
One Uighur man was imprisoned in Qakilik County, southeastern Xinjiang, in 2018 for "the crime of incitement of ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination," a leaked court document published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) said.
The man's name was redacted. Qakilik County is also known as Ruoqiang in Chinese.
His alleged crimes included telling his colleagues to pray, not to watch porn, and not to accept food from people who smoke or drink alcohol.
Here's what he told his colleagues, according to the court documents:
"Do not say dirty words, do not watch porn, or you will become a kafir." Kafir is an Arabic word that means "non-believer" or "infidel."
"If you don't pray and watch porn, your soul will not be clean for 40 days and God will not accept your prayers."
"If you eat without praying, you will become a kafir. If you do not pray, you will be in hell and God will not forgive you."
China's apparent encouragement of watching porn is ironic because the government has reportedly ordered video-streaming sites to censor footage of "flirtatious" dancing and being shirtless in the past. Authorities had called those actions "obscene."
Exhibiting other Muslim behaviors and practices, such as not serving alcohol in restaurants.
xinjiang uighur pray
Erkin, the former detainee, told Human Rights Watch: "I know three restaurant owners [who] ran 'Islamic' restaurants — they got detained because they don't allow smoking or drinking in their restaurants."
The unidentified Uighur man who was sentenced to prison for allegedly inciting "ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination" had also told his colleagues not to accept food from "women who do not pray" or "people who smoke and drink alcohol," the court document said.
Another Uighur who had been detained, identified by the pseudonym Nur, told Human Rights Watch last year that he met a man who got locked up because "because he told his neighbor that they shouldn't drink because they are Muslims."
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