{"id":19575,"date":"2018-03-03T02:47:09","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T23:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/a-cruel-tactic-watchdogs-denounce-detention-of-us-based-reporters-family-members-in-china\/"},"modified":"2018-03-03T02:47:24","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T23:47:24","slug":"a-cruel-tactic-watchdogs-denounce-detention-of-us-based-reporters-family-members-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/a-cruel-tactic-watchdogs-denounce-detention-of-us-based-reporters-family-members-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A cruel tactic\u2019: Watchdogs denounce detention of US-based reporters\u2019 family members in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human rights and press freedom watchdogs have denounced China\u2019s detention of the family members of a US news organisation\u2019s journalists covering the restive Xinjiang region.<\/p>\n

Security services in China detained several close relatives of four Washington-based reporters working for US-funded news outlet Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Washington Post reported<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

RFA said the detentions appear to be an attempt to intimidate and punish the reporters for their coverage of the western Xinjiang region, where the majority Muslim Uighur population has seen increasing restrictions on their religion.<\/p>\n

\"china<\/p>\n

This picture taken on June 26, 2017 shows police patrolling as Muslims leave the Id Kah Mosque after the morning prayer on Eid al-Fitr in the old town of Kashgar in China\u2019s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. File photo: Johannes Eisele\/AFP.<\/p>\n

More than two dozen relatives of journalists Gulchehra Hoja, Shohret Hoshur, Mamatjan Juma, and Kurban Niyaz have been detained or disappeared, according<\/a> to RFA. The reporters are all American citizens with the exception of Niyaz, who holds a green card.<\/p>\n

The reporters work for RFA\u2019s Uighur service, one of the few outlets covering the crackdown in the region, which has seen tens of thousands of ethnic minorities in the province sent to \u201cpolitical education centres,\u201d according to Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very concerned about the well-being and safety of our journalists\u2019 family members, especially those in need of medical treatment,\u201d said Rohit Mahajan, director of public affairs at RFA in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also particularly concerned about the use of detentions as a tactic by Chinese authorities to silence and intimidate independent media, as well as to inhibit RFA\u2019s mission of bringing free press to closed societies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"XinJiang,<\/p>\n

XinJiang, China. Photo: Wikicommons.<\/p>\n

\u201cPunishing family members of journalists beyond the reach of the Chinese government is a cruel, if not barbaric, tactic,\u201d said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese government should immediately account for these people\u2019s health, whereabouts, and legal status and set them free.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Around 20 relatives of #GulchehraHoja<\/a>, a #Uighur<\/a> journalist at @RadioFreeAsia<\/a> based in the US, have been detained by the Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. <\/p>\n

All are thought to have been targeted due to her work.@amnesty<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/FljROzZHjv<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9B2sf3M8E7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 William Nee (@williamnee) March 1, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

RFA reported on Thursday that a fifth Uighur reporter Eset Sulaiman came forward to report that his elder brother, mother-in-law and father-in-law had been sent to re-education camps.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of my job at RFA and my wife\u2019s position on the board of the Uyghur American Association, Chinese authorities have retaliated against and threatened us by detaining three relatives in the Uyghur Region,\u201d Sulaiman told RFA.<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Gulchehra Hoja said in a separate statement posted online last week that she had lost contact with her parents, and her 43-year-old brother was taken away by police in October. She said she was told by a relative that around 20 of her extended family members had been arrested, but was unable to reach her relatives in China to confirm the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely worried about all of them, but especially my parents who are very old and sick. My father is paralyzed on one side and needs constant care. My mother has recently had surgery on her feet and is very weak,\u201d Hoja wrote.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International called on the authorities to \u201crelease all Gulchehra Hoja\u2019s relatives and drop any charges against them unless there is sufficient credible and admissible evidence that they have committed an internationally recognized offence and are granted a fair trial in line with international standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also urged authorities to ensure that her parents can receive appropriate medical care, and ensure that those in the Xinjiang region can communicate with others without interference unless it is in line with international human rights law.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch reported on Tuesday that Xinjiang authorities are collecting large amounts of data on individuals<\/a> and using it to identify targets deemed threatening.<\/p>\n

Chinese authorities say that heavy security in the region is needed to prevent the spread of Islamist extremism and separatism, but rights groups accuse the government of repressing the culture and rights of Uighur Muslims.<\/p>\n

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent. Contribute to our critical month-long HK$1m Funding Drive<\/a><\/strong>, help safeguard our independence and secure our operations for another year. Read how carefully we spend every cent in our Annual\/Transparency Report.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The post \u2018A cruel tactic\u2019: Watchdogs denounce detention of US-based reporters\u2019 family members in China<\/a> appeared first on Hong Kong Free Press HKFP<\/a>. Author: Catherine Lai<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Human rights and press freedom watchdogs have denounced China\u2019s detention of the family members of a US news organisation\u2019s journalists covering the restive Xinjiang region.<\/p>\n

Security services in China detained several close relatives of four Washington-based reporters working for US-funded news outlet Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

RFA said the detentions appear to be an attempt to intimidate and punish the reporters for their coverage of the western Xinjiang region, where the majority Muslim Uighur population has seen increasing restrictions on their religion.<\/p>\n

This picture taken on June 26, 2017 shows police patrolling as Muslims leave the Id Kah Mosque after the morning prayer on Eid al-Fitr in the old town of Kashgar in China\u2019s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. File photo: Johannes Eisele\/AFP.<\/p>\n

More than two dozen relatives of journalists Gulchehra Hoja, Shohret Hoshur, Mamatjan Juma, and Kurban Niyaz have been detained or disappeared, according to RFA. The reporters are all American citizens with the exception of Niyaz, who holds a green card.<\/p>\n

The reporters work for RFA\u2019s Uighur service, one of the few outlets covering the crackdown in the region, which has seen tens of thousands of ethnic minorities in the province sent to \u201cpolitical education centres,\u201d according to Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very concerned about the well-being and safety of our journalists\u2019 family members, especially those in need of medical treatment,\u201d said Rohit Mahajan, director of public affairs at RFA in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also particularly concerned about the use of detentions as a tactic by Chinese authorities to silence and intimidate independent media, as well as to inhibit RFA\u2019s mission of bringing free press to closed societies.\u201d<\/p>\n

XinJiang, China. Photo: Wikicommons.<\/p>\n

\u201cPunishing family members of journalists beyond the reach of the Chinese government is a cruel, if not barbaric, tactic,\u201d said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese government should immediately account for these people\u2019s health, whereabouts, and legal status and set them free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 20 relatives of #GulchehraHoja, a #Uighur journalist at @RadioFreeAsia based in the US, have been detained by the Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. <\/p>\n

All are thought to have been targeted due to her work.@amnestyhttps:\/\/t.co\/FljROzZHjv pic.twitter.com\/9B2sf3M8E7<\/p>\n

\u2014 William Nee (@williamnee) March 1, 2018<\/p>\n

RFA reported on Thursday that a fifth Uighur reporter Eset Sulaiman came forward to report that his elder brother, mother-in-law and father-in-law had been sent to re-education camps.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of my job at RFA and my wife\u2019s position on the board of the Uyghur American Association, Chinese authorities have retaliated against and threatened us by detaining three relatives in the Uyghur Region,\u201d Sulaiman told RFA.<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Gulchehra Hoja said in a separate statement posted online last week that she had lost contact with her parents, and her 43-year-old brother was taken away by police in October. She said she was told by a relative that around 20 of her extended family members had been arrested, but was unable to reach her relatives in China to confirm the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely worried about all of them, but especially my parents who are very old and sick. My father is paralyzed on one side and needs constant care. My mother has recently had surgery on her feet and is very weak,\u201d Hoja wrote.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International called on the authorities to \u201crelease all Gulchehra Hoja\u2019s relatives and drop any charges against them unless there is sufficient credible and admissible evidence that they have committed an internationally recognized offence and are granted a fair trial in line with international standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also urged authorities to ensure that her parents can receive appropriate medical care, and ensure that those in the Xinjiang region can communicate with others without interference unless it is in line with international human rights law.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/p>\n

New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch reported on Tuesday that Xinjiang authorities are collecting large amounts of data on individuals and using it to identify targets deemed threatening.<\/p>\n

Chinese authorities say that heavy security in the region is needed to prevent the spread of Islamist extremism and separatism, but rights groups accuse the government of repressing the culture and rights of Uighur Muslims.<\/p>\n

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent. Contribute to our critical month-long HK$1m Funding Drive, help safeguard our independence and secure our operations for another year. Read how carefully we spend every cent in our Annual\/Transparency Report.<\/p>\n

The post \u2018A cruel tactic\u2019: Watchdogs denounce detention of US-based reporters\u2019 family members in China appeared first on Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Author: Catherine Lai.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tie-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19575\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}