A human rights group urges Kazakhstan not to expel a 23 -year -old Kazakh 2 -year -old man who fled from Xinjiang several weeks ago, warning that he could face persecution and internment.
Atajurt, a group of volunteers who campaign for the victims of the Kazakh oppression in the Xinjiang, said on Friday that she confirmed that the man, Yerzhanat Abai, had been detained by Kazakh police.
Serikzhan Bilash, who directs the group, said that Yerzhanat Abai, a Chinese national, was held in the city of Panfilov in the county of Zharkent, in the province of Almaty, which is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border with China.
“It could be escorted secretly in China by Xinjiang national security or the Kazakhstan National Security Office at any time, and no one knows its specific situation. It is only if this affair is made public in the world, the Kazakh government will not be able to repatriate it,” said Serikzhan.
Serikzhan, who lives in exile in the United States, was a vocal activist for the liberation of ethnic Kazakh colleagues from Chinese camps, where the Chinese Communist Party in power held around 1.8 million ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslims in mass incarceration centers after 2017.
“Many young people from Xinjiang are often summoned by police or sent to learning centers under various pretexts, saying that they offer job possibilities. In fact, they are arranged to work in the continent's factories, most of which are chemical factories that are harmful to health, and Wages are even lower than in Xinjiang, “said Serrikzhan.
According to Atajurt, Yerzhanat Abai entered Kazakhstan on March 27 and asked for help from the Kazakh city group of Almaty four days later. He said he was from Gongliu, Yili prefecture in Xinjiang, China.
The circumstances of his departure from China and why he was detained in Kazakhstan was not immediately clear.
RFA asked for without success from the Kazakhstan Ministry of the Interior and the Chinese Consulate General in Almaty.
Edited by Mat Pennington.