Uyghur butcher served 7 years in jail for urging friends not to drink alcohol or smoke
ij-reportika.com
A Uyghur butcher serving a seven-year prison sentence in southern Xinjiang for advising friends not to drink alcohol or smoke at a gathering has been released alive and returned to his family, sources with knowledge of the situation said. It marks the first time that one of the roughly 100 jailed Uyghur residents from Xaneriq...

Cross posted from: https://feddit.de/post/11367068

“The reason for arrest is that he stopped others from smoking and drinking,” said the officer. “He is not a religious figure.”

Abstaining from alcohol is one of 75 different activities and behaviors identified by the Chinese government as a sign of potential religious extremism. It is listed in brochures distributed in some parts of Xinjiang to educate the public on how to identify extreme religious activities.

It is also a cause for jailing Uyghurs, who as Muslims abstain from drinking alcohol, as part of a larger effort by Beijing to eradicate Uyghur culture and religion.

Initially, the Uyghur was “educated” in a camp for two years, but in 2019, he was sentenced and transferred to prison, they said.

Xaneriq village consists of 23 smaller communities with a total population of 31,000 people, averaging around 1,400 people in each community.

About 800 people live in Tawaqchi community, of which more than 100 were in prison, with some serving indefinite sentences in internment camps, an Uyghur expatriate said.

[Edit typo.]

  • Phoenixz
    31·
    8 months ago

    Oh yeah, most religious terrorists totally didn’t become religious and a terrorist after being oppressed or abused by the governments they attack. Yes, playing Devil’s advocate here, but nobody just one day wakes up and decides to murder a bunch of kids for no reason.

    The Chinese government is creating terrorists, not eradicating them.