Uyghur butcher served 7 years in jail for urging friends not to drink alcohol or smoke
ij-reportika.com
A Uyghur butcher serving a seven-year prison sentence in southern Xinjiang for advising friends not to drink alcohol or smoke at a gathering has been released alive and returned to his family, sources with knowledge of the situation said. It marks the first time that one of the roughly 100 jailed Uyghur residents from Xaneriq...

Cross posted from: https://feddit.de/post/11367068

“The reason for arrest is that he stopped others from smoking and drinking,” said the officer. “He is not a religious figure.”

Abstaining from alcohol is one of 75 different activities and behaviors identified by the Chinese government as a sign of potential religious extremism. It is listed in brochures distributed in some parts of Xinjiang to educate the public on how to identify extreme religious activities.

It is also a cause for jailing Uyghurs, who as Muslims abstain from drinking alcohol, as part of a larger effort by Beijing to eradicate Uyghur culture and religion.

Initially, the Uyghur was “educated” in a camp for two years, but in 2019, he was sentenced and transferred to prison, they said.

Xaneriq village consists of 23 smaller communities with a total population of 31,000 people, averaging around 1,400 people in each community.

About 800 people live in Tawaqchi community, of which more than 100 were in prison, with some serving indefinite sentences in internment camps, an Uyghur expatriate said.

[Edit typo.]

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
    321·
    8 months ago

    So… Just to clarify: if I traveled to China and let slip to the authorities that I no longer drink alcohol and am also an ex-smoker, would they arrest me, an atheist, for “potential religious extremism” or would I have to be a Muslim too for THAT particular bit of oppression?

    • Zagorath@aussie.zone
      48·
      8 months ago

      The laws are an excuse to continue their genocide against the Uyghurs. They have no interest in enforcing them against foreign tourists or even Han Chinese.

    • 520@kbin.social
      13·
      8 months ago

      You would have to be a Muslim. Not drinking and smoking is usually something that they like to promote in their citizenry.

      Not that they aren’t shitty towards Atheists, but it’s a whole 'nother level with the Uyghurs. Think post-9/11 islamaphobia taken to wild, CCP level extremes, and you’re not far off the level they take it and their ‘rationale’ for doing so. (Basically there were a few terrorist attacks years back and the CCP has been milking it as an excuse for their conduct)

    • Nasan@sopuli.xyz
      3·
      8 months ago

      You have to make sure you say, “according to the government” at the end of your statement. It’s the CCP’s “no homo”.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
        6·
        8 months ago

        Nah, we’re not on Lemmygrad, Hexbear, or .ml, so I should be able to accurately criticize the atrocious actions of the Chinese government without being banned from World News again lol