Recently released drone footage appears to show Chinese police transferring hundreds of imprisoned religious minorities who are blindfolded and shackled.
The video, posted anonymously on YouTube last week, shows prisoners in blue and yellow uniforms sitting on the ground in what is possibly Xinjiang province. Xinjiang contains a large population of Uighur Muslims, an ethnic and religious minority, of which China has placed as many as two million in internment, or re-education, camps.
Nathan Ruser, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a defense policy think tank, analyzed the footage and believes it was filmed at a train station in southeast Xinjiang last August, according to the Guardian. He said the prisoners were likely being transferred to the city of Korla, which is thought to have multiple re-education camps.
Prisoners at re-education camps are usually not charged with a crime, but rather accused of “extremist” behavior, such as having an “abnormal beard” or wearing a veil. Former detainees have claimed prisoners were required to renounce their faith and swear loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. China has also taken steps to repress Uighurs outside the camps.
Authorities have instituted travel restrictions on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, and use facial recognition technology to monitor them. Chinese researchers have also been working to create a DNA database of Chinese citizens. Residents of Xinjiang from age 12 to 65 are required to have their blood samples, images of irises, voice recordings, and fingerprints collected. Chinese companies are also developing algorithms to track suspicious patterns among ethnic and religious minorities, combining behavioral observation, social media usage, and facial recognition to aid the government’s crackdown.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed China’s treatment of Uighurs earlier this week.
“I want to make clear that China’s repressive campaign in Xinjiang is not about terrorism. It’s about China’s attempt to erase its own citizens,” Pompeo said after a meeting with foreign ministers.
