Day-to-day activities for people around the world — going to a mosque or traveling abroad — have landed hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people belonging to Muslim minorities in Chinese internment camps.
At least 800,000 and up to 2 million ethnic Uyghurs and other members of Muslim minorities have been in these camps located in China’s Xinjiang province since April 2017. They report that they have been forced to renounce their religion and heritage, and have been abused and tortured.
Chinese authorities say the camps are needed to house terrorists. Signs of “potential extremism” that may lead to arrest and detention for these individuals include having “irregular” beards, refusing to consume alcohol or pork, or engaging in one of the other activities listed above.
