detained abroad, arbitrarily detained

JUSTICE ABROAD

“Here When You Need Us”

Press Statement

Ethnic Uzbek Father and Son Face Lengthy Detention in Chinese Concentration Camp Despite not Committing any Crime Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak Represents

Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak has been instructed by the family of an ethnic Uzbek father and son from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region who could face lengthy periods inside one of China’s notorious concentration camps or prisons despite not having committed any crime.

Enwer Tursun, (in Chinese: Ainiwaer Tuerxun 艾尼瓦尔，吐尔逊January 1969, 50 y.o) was born in Yining, China and is a married law-abiding shopkeeper with a shop in Yining City which sells clothing imported from Turkey. He was taken by the Chinese authorities 29 April 2018 from his clothing store by police officers and then taken to BOZ prison which is located outside of Yining City (picture below)

Mr Tursun has three children and his eldest child Ezimet Enwer (in Chinese: Aizimaiti Ainiwaer 艾子麦提，艾尼瓦, Date of Birth 10 June 1994) was also seized on 27 January 2018 from his home. It is understood that he was sent to one of China’s concentration camps and then was sent to a prison in Suydung (Yili). Ezimet Enwer studied theology between 2011-2016 at Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey.

Enwer and Ezimet have not committed any crime. It is understood that these men have been seized because of their minority ethnicity (Uzbek), religion (Islam), and because Enwer has travelled to Turkey to do business as well and to some European Union countries with a tourism group and because Ezimet has studied outside of China.

China’s arbitrary mass internment of Uyghur, Uzbek, Kazahk, Hui and other Turkic Muslim citizens and the treatment and horrific conditions under which they are being held which amounts to torture has now been widely reported by the international press. It is understood that the approach is an attempt to purge Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of its many minority ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Hui, and Kazakhs. Their arrest and detention, which is unlawful under international law, follows the arbitrary detention of an estimated more than a million Turkic Muslims and other Turkic Muslim minority ethnicities in the Region[1]. Both men hold Overseas Chinese Certificates which is supposed to guarantee their rights in regard to travelling overseas and doing business abroad.

Under these instructions Justice Abroad will be advocating for the release of the two men who have done nothing wrong. Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak will be leading on this case and will be pursuing all avenues including lobbying the nations where the Tursun family are citizens (Germany, Canada, Sweden, the United States of America,Norway, and France), making applications to the United Nations bodies, and bringing their plight to the public’s attention through the international press and human rights organisations.

Mr Polak states the following ‘it is frightening that the Turkic Muslim minorities in China can be arrested and sent to concentration camps or prisons where the conditions amount to torture for no reason other than their ethnicity, religion, and their legitimate travel outside of China. Enwer and Ezimet have done nothing wrong and they should be able to continue their law-abiding lives without facing this type of repression. The unlawful arbitrary detention of these men is directly contrary to the international human rights standards to which China is bound and it is the responsibility of the international community, and especially the states where the Tursun family have citizenship, to call on China to release the men immediately.’

On social media we will be using the hashtag #FreeTheTursuns. Justice Abroad can be found on Twitter here, Facebook here, and LinkedIn here.

Media requests for interviews with Michael Polak or members of the Tursun family can be accommodated in any language requested and should be made by contacting Justice Abroad by email at contact@JusticeAbroad.co.uk or phone on +44 (0)203 488 2316.

Notes to Editors

Justice Abroad, www.justiceabroad.co.uk has been set up to help those trying to find their way through foreign justice systems with all the associated hurdles that presents, to represent those facing gross breaches of their human rights no matter where this takes place, and to advise and assist the victims of crimes as to how to achieve justice.

To help such individuals or families with these dilemmas and many more, three experts, Michael Polak, a barrister with an international practice focussed on the assistance of foreign nationals in trouble around the world, David Swindle , a former Detective Superintendent who has worked on hundreds of murders and complex high profile investigations in the UK and abroad during his 34 years in the police, and David Walters MVO, a former British Diplomat with over thirty years’ experience having served in over a dozen countries around the world, have pooled their extensive experience and contacts together to provide a comprehensive service. In providing this service the team consider all legal, political, and investigatory steps which might assist their clients attain justice.

[1] https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Joint-Letter-to-UN-Secretary-General-Antonio-Guterres-regarding-Xinjiang-1.pdf