Uighur Muslim detained in Morocco 'fears deportation to China'
Uighur Muslim detained in Morocco 'fears deportation to China'
Abla Abliklim, who was en route to Germany when he was allegedly arrested in Morocco, fears he may soon be deported to China.
3 min read
Uighurs are increasingly facing deportation to China [Twitter]
A Uighur Muslim has reportedly been detained by Moroccan authorities and fears imminent deportation to China, activists alleged on Tuesday.
Abla Abliklim, officially identified as Abula Abulikemu in a passport photo shared by activists, was allegedly arrested by the Moroccan authorities after entering the kingdom in Casablanca's Mohammed V International Airport on Sunday.
Abliklim was en route to Germany from Turkey, according to Australian-Uighur activist Arslan Hidayat.
The 22-year-old Uighur citizen of China contacted family members in Istanbul to warn them he may soon be deported to China, activists said.
It is unclear why Abliklim was reportedly detained in Casablanca.
The New Arab was unable to independently verify reports of his arrest.
A request for comment to the Moroccan Embassy in London was not immediately answered.
It is not the first time this year Uighur Muslims have been detained and threatened with deportation to China by European and Middle Eastern countries.
Activists last month were able to halt one Uighur's deportation to China.
A resident of Pakistan for more than 20 years, 53-year-old Abliklim Yusuf was detained in Qatar in an attempt to fly to Bosnia.
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Doha ultimately allowed Yusuf to extend his stay in Doha while seeking asylum from a third country. He was later given permission to fly to the United States.
Turkey, which hosts one of the world's largest Uighur populations outside of China, has recently faced accusations of deporting Uighurs despite its public support of the community.
Mutliple Uighur Muslims have told reporters they were ordered to leave the country after attempts to renew their residence permits were rejected.
Ankara claims it does not deport anyone back to China if they are at risk of persecution in the country.
Officials said Zinnetgul Tursun, a Uighur woman deported from Turkey earlier this year, had entered Turkey illegally and was sent back to Tajikistan, whose embassy claimed her as a citizen.
Activists fear Tajikistan is acting under orders from Beijing to facilitate the deportaiton of Uighurs through its territory.
Turkey, which hosts one of the world's largest Uighur populations outside of China, has recently faced accusations of deporting Uighurs despite its public support of the community.
Mutliple Uighur Muslims have told reporters they were ordered to leave the country after attempts to renew their residence permits were rejected.
Ankara claims it does not deport anyone back to China if they are at risk of persecution in the country.
Officials said Zinnetgul Tursun, a Uighur woman deported from Turkey earlier this year, had entered Turkey illegally and was sent back to Tajikistan, whose embassy claimed her as a citizen.
Activists fear Tajikistan is acting under orders from Beijing to facilitate the deportaiton of Uighurs through its territory.
China's 'concentration' camps
Beijing is embroiled in an ongoing campaign to force China's 20-million-strong Uighur Muslim population to conform with Chinese culture and the state.
While China has denied detaining innocent citizens in detention camps, human rights organisations say at least a million Muslims, mostly of the Uighur ethnicity, have been imprisoned in "concentration" camps in the northwestern Xinjiang province.
Beijing claims the detainees are in fact "students" enrolled in "training" to reverse the effects of Islamist radicalisation and "reintigrate" into Chinese society.
Uighur activists insist that while a small minority of the province's population has been involved in separatist violence and fighting with extremist groups, those detained by the Chinese authorities are innocent citizens.
Human rights groups say that Uighurs and other Muslim minorities endure political indoctrination at these camps.
International recognition of the incarceration and human rights abuses has been sparse, especially from governments of Muslim majority nations.
Thirty-seven mostly Muslim countries came under fire last month for signing a letter defending China's human rights record. The letter was addressed to the UN Human Rights Council in response to another document denouncing China's treatment of the Uighurs, which was signed by twenty-two countries.
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