The Uighur Muslims detained in concentration camps in Xinjiang have been forced to take unknown medicines, stripped naked and sprayed with disinfectants during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Over 1 million Uighurs have been staying in cramped cells in detention camps called ‘re-education centres’ for months. The Coronavirus outbreak put them in more danger as the Xinjiag government imposed harsh rules during the lockdown. Inmates allege that they are sprayed with a scalding disinfectant every week which made their skin peel off and force-fed unknown medicines. Xinjiang’s lockdown is backed by a vast surveillance apparatus that has turned the region into a digital police state by detaining people for crimes like having relatives abroad.
This month, thousands of Xinjiang residents took to social media to complain about what they called excessive measures against the virus in posts that are often censored, some with images of residents handcuffed to railings and front doors sealed with metal bars. Human rights groups around the world have raised concerns over the detention camps and torture done to Uighurs by the Chinese government.
