"At its most extreme, peaceful activists practicing their
religion in ways that the Party and government deem unacceptable are
arrested, tortured, and at times executed," said the 114-page report
by Human Rights Watch and Human Rights in China.
"The harshest punishments are saved for those accused of
involvement in so-called separatist activity, which officials
increasingly term 'terrorism' for domestic and external
consumption."
The report, "Devastating Blows: Religious Repression of Uighurs
in Xinjiang", is based on previously undisclosed Communist Party and
government documents.
It also draws on local regulations, official newspaper accounts,
and interviews conducted in Xinjiang.
"Uighurs are seen by Beijing as an ethno-nationalist threat to
the Chinese state," said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human
Rights in China.
"As Islam is perceived as underpinning Uighur ethnic identity,
China has taken draconian steps to smother Islam as a means of
subordinating Uighur nationalist sentiment."
The report claims to unveil for the first time "the complex
architecture of law, regulation, and policy in Xinjiang that denies
Uighurs religious freedom,
and by extension freedom of association, assembly, and
_expression_".
"Chinese policy and law enforcement stifle religious activity and
thought even in school and at home," it said.
"One official document goes so far as to say that 'parents and
legal guardians may not allow minors to participate in religious
activities'."
The Uighurs, a Turkish-speaking minority of eight million whose
traditional homeland lies in the oil-rich Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region in northwest China, have become increasingly fearful for
their cultural survival and traditional way of life as China makes
inroads into the area.
An intense internal migration drive has witnessed the arrival of
more than 1.2 million ethnic Chinese settlers over the past decade
and many Uighurs desire greater autonomy, with some wishing for a
separate state.
"The worldwide campaign against terrorism has given Beijing the
perfect excuse to crack down harder than ever in Xinjiang," said
Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
"Other Chinese enjoy a growing freedom to worship, but the
Uighurs, like the Tibetans, find that their religion is being used
as a tool of control."
The report said half of the inmates in Xinjiang labor camps have
been jailed without out trial or judicial review, for allegedly
engaging in separatist activities.
At a more mundane level, Uighurs face strict prohibition on
celebrating religious holidays, studying religious texts or showing
their religion at state institutions, including schools.
Uighur government officials or workers in state institutions or
state-owned enterprises are even prohibited from growing beards, a
long-held Muslim tradition, it said.
The Chinese government also vets those who can be Islamic clerics
and what version of the Koran is acceptable.
The rights groups called on the international community to press
China to repeal the regulations and end policies and practices of
discrimination against Uighurs.
They also stressed the need to challenge Chinese assertions that
all separatists are criminals or are connected to international
terror networks.
A Chinese government spokesman was not available for comment.
