Michael Polak of Justice Abroad Submits Communications to United Nations Bodies in regards to Ethnic Uzbek Father and Son Detained in China
Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak is instructed by the family of an ethnic Uzbek father and son from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region facing lengthy periods inside one of China’s notorious concentration camps or prisons despite not having committed any crime.
The clients represented in this case are Enwer Tursun, (in Chinese: Ainiwaer Tuerxun 艾尼瓦尔，吐尔逊 born in January 1969) who is a 50 year-old married shopkeeper and his son, Mr Ezimet Enwer (in Chinese: Aizimaiti Ainiwaer 艾子麦提，艾尼瓦, Date of Birth 10 June 1994) who is a 25 year old of Uzbek/Uyghur ethnicity, and a university graduate from Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey. Both men, who are of good character, have been seized by the authorities and it is not clear exactly where they are being held.
On behalf of both men, Michael Polak, has drafted and submitted a communication to a number of United Nations’ Human Rights Council Special Procedures: the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues; the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. The bodies will request that China account for the whereabouts of Mr Enwer and Mr Tursun and to justify the reason for their detention and will push for their release.
Mr Polak states the following ‘It is hoped that the Special Procedures will assist in the release of both men who have done nothing wrong and are being detained in horrific conditions simply because of their ethnicity and religion. Mr Tursun and Mr Enwer have not committed any criminal offence and they need to be returned so that they can support their family. It is worrying that Turkic Muslim minorities in China are still experiencing extreme levels of repression and the countries where Enwer and Ezimet’s family are based (Germany, Canada, Sweden, the United States of America, Norway, and France), and the rest of the international community, must speak up to ensure that their human rights are respected.’
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.