Uyghurs Facing World’s Highest Incarceration Rates in China’s Xinjiang Region
A new report has revealed that China is imprisoning Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang at an alarming rate, with an estimated 1 in 26 individuals from these groups behind bars – the highest incarceration rate in the world, RFA reported on Thursday.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) report found that the imprisonment rate in Xinjiang is 3,814 per 100,000 people, over 47 times higher than China’s overall rate of 80 per 100,000. This exceeds even the world’s previous highest known rate in El Salvador.
In total, the report estimates 578,500 Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities were imprisoned as of 2022, accounting for over a third of China’s total prison population despite comprising just 1% of the national population.
“These are just people who have been put in prison. It doesn’t include people who might still be in internment camps,” said UHRP senior researcher Ben Carrdus, referencing the estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs detained in what China called “vocational training centers.”
The report also indicates that Uyghurs experience higher death rates in prison than other ethnic groups in China.
It is worth mentioning that many of those imprisoned have been convicted of crimes related to practicing Islam, such as studying the Quran when they were young or teaching it to others.
