III. Enforced Disappearances and Unlawful Arrests

Human Rights Watch recognizes that the Chinese authorities have the right and duty to thoroughly investigate the incidents of violence during the July protests, and to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators according to the law.

However, Human Rights Watch research indicates that instead of launching an impartial investigation in accordance with international and domestic standards, Chinese law enforcement agencies carried out a widespread campaign of unlawful arrests in the Uighur areas of Urumqi; at least dozens, and possibly many more, detainees have “disappeared” without a trace.

Human Rights Watch documented enforced disappearances of at least 43 men and teenage boys,[53] which took place between July 6 and the beginning of August 2009.[54] The actual number of the “disappeared” is likely to be significantly higher than the number of cases documented by Human Rights Watch, as our ability to collect information was limited.[55]

Human Rights Watch also received reports of arrests that took place in other parts of Xinjiang—for example, the town of Kashgar—yet was not able to collect sufficient information from these areas.

Under international law, an enforced disappearance occurs when state authorities or others acting at official behest detain a person and then refuse to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or the person’s whereabouts, placing the person outside the protection of the law. Enforced disappearance greatly increases the likelihood of the victim suffering other crimes such as torture and extrajudicial execution, and the practice violates the right to liberty and security of the person and the right to a fair and public trial.[56] The “disappearances” also cause ongoing anguish to the families who live in fear and uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones.

The practice of enforced disappearances also directly violates Chinese law, which requires judicial or prosecutorial approval of arrests; limits the period of detention without charge; guarantees the right of detainees to retain a lawyer; and requires law enforcement agencies to notify the detainee’s family of the reasons for detention and place of custody. Unlawful detention as well as torture and maltreatment of detainees are punishable offenses under China’s criminal law.[57]

The “disappearances” in Urumqi occurred as a result of large-scale sweep operations as well as targeted raids carried out by Chinese security forces in the predominantly Uighur districts of the city.

In cases documented by Human Rights Watch, the victims were young Uighur men—most in their 20s, although the youngest victim was 14 years old, and some witnesses reported that the police had arrested boys as young as 12 during the raids.

It is possible that some Han Chinese also became victims of “disappearances” and unlawful arrests. However, none of the more than two dozen Han Chinese residents of Urumqi interviewed by Human Rights Watch provided any information about such cases.

The mass arrests started on July 6, 2009, when Chinese security forces conducted numerous large-scale sweep operations in two predominantly Uighur areas of Urumqi— Erdaoqiao and Saimachang. The operations, on a lesser scale, continued at least through the end of July.

According to witnesses from these areas, in the immediate aftermath of the protests, especially in the early hours of July 6, security forces—police, People’s armed police,[58] and the military—rounded up dozens of young Uighur men and drove them away in buses, trucks, and jeeps. More than 20 witnesses independently described seeing the security forces “packing” Uighur men one on top of the other into their jeeps and trucks. The witnesses could not tell precisely how many detainees were in each car but some said the security forces packed the detainees in their vehicles by the dozens.

For example, one of the witnesses, Gulmira G., described a raid that took place in her neighborhood on July 6:

That day, a large group of armed police arrived to our neighborhood and took many Uighur men away. They went after every young man they could catch—those who lived there, and those who just happened to be there. I saw how they were taken away—the police loaded a full bus of these young men. I think they took some from the street and others from their home; I was inside myself, but could see [from the window] the police loading the men into their bus.

Their families and we, the neighbors, could not do or even say anything—we all were too scared to come out, fearing they would take us away as well. I don’t know where the men were taken, and their relatives don’t know either. I have not heard of anyone being released after that.[59]

In some neighborhoods, the security forces[60] sealed off entire streets and ordered all residents to come out. They then separated young men, pushed them to their knees or flat on the ground, and, at least in some cases, beat the men while questioning them about their participation in the protests. Dozens of the young men were then put in military trucks and driven away. In some cases, the security forces seemed to select those who had wounds or bruises on their bodies, or were not at their homes during the protests, while in other cases the criteria for selection was not clear.

Despite the relatives’ pleas, the security forces did not say where they were from or where they were taking the detainees. In some cases they said they would return the men “after an inquiry.”

As of the end of August 2009, all 43 men and boys remain missing—only in one case has Human Rights Watch received information that one of the detainees had been released and immediately left town. Human Rights Watch has been unable to get updated information on their fate.

In addition to large-scale sweep operations, Chinese security forces also arrested an unknown number of people in the course of targeted raids, usually involving smaller groups of police officers or soldiers. In cases documented by Human Rights Watch, the detainees were taken away from their homes, places of work, doctors’ offices, or from the street. In some cases, the security forces seem to have acted on information allegedly received from previously detained individuals.

Some of these targeted arrests took place immediately after the protests, on July 6-7, but continued at least until mid-August. For example, in addition to cases described in detail below, Human Rights Watch documented at least seven arrests that took place on August 17, 2009: one man, 20-year-old local cook “Mirzokarim M.,” was taken away from his place of work in [street name withheld] street in Erdaoqiao,[61] and another six young men were taken away from Saimachang area.[62] On August 18, 2009, at about 9 a.m., Human Rights Watch received a report of the detention of another young man—a witness said a group of security personnel in grey camouflage uniforms were walking him away in handcuffs, and the neighbors explained that he had been picked up from his house just several minutes before that.

The above-mentioned cases cannot be qualified as “disappearances,” as the information was collected shortly after the arrests, and Human Rights Watch does not have sufficient details to determine whether the arrests were lawful or not. However, these continued arrests do suggest that any “final” numbers on the detainees released by the Chinese authorities may not be accurate as the arrests of young Uighur men have clearly continued long after the initial wave of post-protest detentions.

Witness testimonies suggest that arrests have been conducted in violation of Chinese and international law—the security forces did not introduce themselves and did not explain the reasons for arrest, and failed to inform the families of the location where the detainees have been taken.

Human Rights Watch is concerned that in all likelihood the detainees have not had access to lawyers of their choice, especially since Chinese authorities explicitly warned lawyers against taking the protest-related cases.[63]

In most cases documented by Human Rights Watch the victims’ families tried to inquire about their relatives at local police stations or at the military and armed police posts established in their neighborhoods after the protests. However, in none of the cases were they able to get any information about the fate or whereabouts of the missing—the police and other security forces either said they had no knowledge of the arrests, claimed the inquiry was still ongoing without admitting the fact of detention, or simply told the families to go away.

Information on “disappearances” collected by Human Rights Watch, combined with the confusing official data on the detainees and China’s appalling record with respect to unacknowledged detentions following mass protests, raises grave concern for the fate of hundreds of people detained after the Urumqi protests.

Enforced Disappearance of Makhmud M., Age 25, Abdurakhman A., Age 31, and 16 Other Men

Two witnesses, Muhabbat M. and Aysanam A. from [street name withheld] street in Saimachang, said that at around 7 p.m. on July 6, a group of some 150 uniformed police and military sealed off the main street in their neighborhood. After that smaller groups of about 15 fully armed men searched adjacent side streets, house by house, ordering all inhabitants to come out. Aysanam said:

They told everybody to get out of the houses. Women and elderly were told to stand aside, and all men, 12 to 45 years old, were all lined up against the wall. Some men were pushed on their knees, with hands tied around wooden sticks behind their backs; others were forced on the ground with hands on their heads. The soldiers pulled the men’s T-shirts or shirts over their heads so that they couldn’t see.

Police and the military were examining the men to see if they had any bruises or wounds. They also asked where they had been on July 5 and 6. They beat the men randomly, even the older ones—our 70-year-old neighbor was punched and kicked several times. We couldn’t do anything to stop it—they weren’t listening to us.[64]

The two women said that altogether the security forces lined up some 50-60 men—every man from the four houses on their small side street. Out of those, they selected 17 (five from the house where Aysanam and Muhabbat live) whom they put in their trucks parked on the main street and drove away. Muhabbat’s husband, 25-year-old Makhmud M., was among them. She has not heard anything about her husband’s fate since then.[65]

Muhabbat said she did not go to the police station herself, but the relatives of the other 16 men who went there told her that the police had not given them any information— “they said they would conduct an inquiry and if everything is fine they would bring the men back,” she explained.[66]

Aysanam also said that during the same sweep operation, the security forces took away her 31-year-old nephew, Abdurakhman A., from a neighboring side street. She did not know whether any other men had been taken away along with Abdurakhman, but said the family has not received any information about him despite several inquiries with the local police.[67]

Enforced Disappearance of Ziyad-Ahun Z., Age 24 and Shakir Sh., Age 24

Another witness, Humorgul H., described a similar sweep operation that took place on the evening of July 6 in the Erdaoqiao area where she lives. She said that on that day about 20 armed men (two or three police officers and others in military uniforms) came to their side street. They dragged several dozen men out of their houses, pushed them onto their knees, and pulled their T-shirts over their heads.

Humorgul said the soldiers eventually selected two men—her husband, 24-year-old market vendor Ziyad-Ahun Z., and their neighbor, 24-year-old Shakir Sh. They did not provide any explanations, but walked the two men to the main street where the soldiers had their vehicles waiting. Humorgul believed her husband might have been picked up because he wasn’t home on July 5 and returned only on July 6 in the afternoon.

The young woman said that neither she nor Shakir’s family has been able to find any information about the two men’s whereabouts since then.

Enforced Disappearance of Nuriddin N., Age 20

20-year-old Nuriddin N., “disappeared” after Chinese security forces detained him during another large-scale sweep operation that took place in Saimachang on July 7, 2009.

Nuriddin’s father, Azamat, told Human Rights Watch that at about 8 p.m. a joint group of about eight or ten police and military personnel arrived on their small side street in a truck and started asking the residents about young men who live in the neighborhood. Shortly thereafter, they broke into Azamat’s house. The old man said:

They kicked the door open and burst in. I asked why they came and they said my son, Nuriddin, participated in the protests along with his friends, and that these friends had mentioned his name. The men did not introduce themselves and did not say where they were from but said they would bring my son back the next day.

I did not believe them, especially after seeing how they broke into our house. My wife started screaming that she wouldn’t let him go—he is our only child. But three of the policemen just twisted his arms and started dragging him out. My wife ran after them, grabbing their arms, but they did not stop—just dragged her along to the exit.

I followed them outside. I saw how they threw my son face down into their truck. I noticed there were other eight or ten young men on the floor of the truck. They were lying face down with hands behind their heads, surrounded by the soldiers.[68]

Azamat said that after the security forces drove his son and the other young men away, he waited for two days, but Nuriddindid not come back. On the third day, he went to the Dawan police station. He said that he saw some 150 families there, all looking for their relatives, some as young as 12 years old. According to Azamat, nobody came out to talk to the relatives, and when later on he inquired at a small police post in his neighborhood, the police officers also refused to give him any information about his son.[69]

Enforced Disappearance of Karim-Ahun K., Age 16, Fazliddin F., Age 18, and 14 Other Men

In the aftermath of the Urumqi protests, security forces detained 17 young men from three apartment buildings in the same courtyard on [street name withheld] street in Erdaoqiao area. Most of the men were taken away on July 6 and 7, 2009, and at least one, 18-year old Fazliddin F., on July 28.

Fazliddin’s mother, Zuhrufa Z., told Human Rights Watch that the security forces took 12 young men altogether from her four-story apartment building, and another 3 men from a neighboring house, most of them in the course of the raids they conducted in the neighborhood on July 6 and 7. According to Zuhrufa, on July 28, 2009, the security forces came back—three men in civilian clothes, two Chinese and one Uighur, who said they were from the police.[70] She said:

They asked for my son and said they would take him for an inquiry because many people from our neighborhood had participated in the protests. They said they would bring him back in a couple of days, but it’s been more than three weeks and I have no idea where he is and whether he is still alive.

I went to the local police station twice—they did not say whether he was there or not, but said the inquiry was still ongoing.[71]

Zuhrufa said that only one out of the 12 men detained from her apartment building had been released and had immediately left town, and that the relatives of the others have not received any information about the fate and whereabouts of the young men.[72]

Nazira N., from the third apartment building in the same courtyard, said that on July 6, 2008, a joint group of military and police took away her 16-year-old son Karim-Ahun K. and another young man. The whereabouts of the two men remain unknown, despite the relatives’ efforts to locate them. Nazira said:

They said that my son had taken part in the protests. I asked when they would bring him back, but they just said they would inquire and return him. I went to the local police station more than 10 times, but every time they said that they would inquire and if he is innocent they would bring him back. They say the same thing every time, but so far he hasn’t come back, and I have no idea where he is.[73]

Enforced Disappearance of Two Brothers, Jalal-Ahun J., Age 24, and Jamshid J., Age 25, and Two Other Men

In the evening of August 6, 2009, a joint group of military and police detained four young men from [street name withheld] street near a local market in Saimachang area. Kamalutdin K., the father of two of the “disappeared”—24-year-old Jalal-Ahun J. and 25-year-old Jamshid J. —related the circumstances of the “disappearance” to Human Rights Watch. He said:

It was late in the evening, and we were just getting ready to go to bed. Three men in black police uniforms and another four in military camouflage uniforms came to our house. They said my sons have been involved in the attacks against Chinese, but did not show any documents or video footage.[74] They did not say where they were from and where they were taking my boys. They just twisted their arms and led them away.

Two days later, I went to the Dawan police station to inquire about my sons, but the police told me to go away. Then I asked the soldiers at the military post in the entrance to our neighborhood. The soldiers said my sons were fine and were in Kashgar—our family is from there, we came to Urumqi two years ago. But when we contacted our relatives in Kashgar, they said nobody has seen my sons there.[75]

Kamalutdin said his neighbors, the relatives of the two other young men who had been taken away along with Jalal-Ahun and Jamshid, have not received any information on their fate or whereabouts either.[76]

Enforced Disappearance of Sharafutdin Sh., Age 14

14-year-old Sharafutdin Sh. from Erdaoqiao area left his home in the afternoon of August 7, 2009, and went to his father’s shop where he used to help out. He did not reach his destination. According to his sister, Madina M., who also worked in the shop, shortly after Sharafutdin was supposed to arrive, some people came to the shop and informed Sharafutdin’s father that his son had been wounded in the street and that soldiers were taking him away along with other young men.

Sharafutdin’s father then ran out to the street and saw the soldiers carrying his son, who was wounded in the leg, away. He followed the soldiers who took Sharafutdin and several other young men who had been wounded to a nearby hospital. Madina said that her father later told the family that the soldiers were waiting in the hospital while the doctors assisted the wounded. After basic medical aid was provided, the soldiers loaded all of the wounded men into their truck and drove them away. Sharafutdin has been missing since then.

Madina said that her father went to the local police station five or six times, but with no results. The police said that Sharafutdin was not on their list of detainees and denied having him in detention. They said they would inform the father should his son “show up.”[77]

 

Enforced Disappearance of Anvar-Ahun A., Age 35

35-year-old Anvar-Ahun A., a vendor from Saimachang, “disappeared” after the soldiers detained him on August 3, 2009.

Anvar-Ahun’s wife, Nishangul N., told Human Rights Watch that the security forces might have targeted her husband because he was not at home on July 5-7, 2009, and thus might have taken part in the protests. She herself was away in Kashgar until August 10 and found out about her husband’ arrest only after she came back.[78]

Maymana M., a neighbor, told Human Rights Watch that on the afternoon of August 3, 2009, the soldiers at the military post in the entrance to the neighborhood arrested Anvar-Ahun as he was returning home.[79]

Since then, neither the family nor the neighbors have received any information of Anvar-Ahun’s fate or whereabouts. His wife said that she decided not to go to the police, having learnt from her neighbors, who were also looking for their missing relatives, that the police had not provided them with any information, and simply told them to go away.[80]

Possible Enforced Disappearance of Umar-Ahun U., Age 24

On July 27, 2009, a group of security personnel in police and military uniforms detained 24-year-old Umar-Ahun U., a carpenter, from Erdaoqiao area.

Halima H., a friend and neighbor of Umar-Ahun and his wife, said that Umar-Ahun has not been seen since then. According to the witness, Umar-Ahun’s wife went to the local police station several times but did not manage to get any information about her husband. Shortly thereafter, the wife’s parents took her back to Kashgar where the family is from, fearing for her safety.[81]

Possible Enforced Disappearance of Muhammadamin M., Age 25

Muhammadamin M., a 25-year old doctor, came to Urumqi from Kashgar several months ago. He resided on [street name withheld] street in Erdaoqiao area where he also had a small clinic.

Two eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that at about 4 p.m. on August 11, 2009, two men in military uniforms and two men in civilian clothes came to Muhammadamin’s clinic.

The witnesses heard the soldiers telling Muhammadamin that some of the people they had arrested earlier mentioned that Muhammadamin had also participated in the protests. After that, they led Muhammadamin out of his clinic, put him in their car and drove him away.[82]

Muhammadamin did not have family in Urumqi and thus it is impossible to verify whether any inquiries have been made with the police on his behalf. More than a week after his arrest, however, the witnesses said that Muhammadamin has not come back and his clinic remained closed.[83]

Possible Enforced Disappearance of Abdurahim A., Age 18

On August 11, 2009, a group of security personnel detained 18-year-old Abdurahim A. from [street name withheld] street in Erdaoqiao area. Previously, on August 6, 2009, security forces “disappeared” two other young men from the same house in the course of a large-scale sweep operation in the area.[84]

A witness, Abdurahim’s neighbor, said at the time of the sweep operation Abdurahim was not at home and returned several days after the protests. She believed that was why the security forces came back for him later.[85]

The witness said Abdurahim has not returned home and his relatives were unable to obtain any information about his fate or whereabouts.