Nearly Half of Residents of Uyghur-Majority Village in Xinjiang Held in Internment Camps

October 23, 2019

Radio Free Asia Shohret Hoshur, Joshua Lipes

While investigating the number of people held in camps in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture’s Yengisheher (Shule) county, RFA’s Uyghur Service spoke with a police officer from Ermudun (Ai’ermudong) township’s No. 1 village, who said that at least 45 percent of the population there had been sent for detention.

“There are more than 400 households with 1,336 residents,” said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“People from more than 300 households [have been detained] … If we estimate at least two people from each household [are adults], that means there are more than 600 [detainees].”

The officer’s estimation suggests that 75 percent of households in No. 1 village have had at least two people detained in camps.