Police say 6 Uyghur residents were taken to the police during home checks aimed at detecting fasting.
WASHINGTON — Uyghur News Network (UNN): Chinese authorities in Xinjiang carried out Ramadan house-to-house checks that took several Uyghurs into custody, according to phone interviews conducted by Radio Free Asia (RFA). One man is now facing criminal charges for fasting.
The incident occurred in Hotan prefecture in southern Xinjiang. Across the region, U.N. experts and rights groups have documented abuses against Uyghurs that a 2022 U.N. report said the abuses may amount to crimes against humanity
A police officer in Lop Township, Lop County, said six residents were taken into custody across several villages, including Bulaq Chorgey, Bash Chapal, Dul Tugman and Korgan.
“We initiated legal proceedings on one person. Others were elderly people, in their 70s and 80s. We gave them formal reprimands,” the officer said.
The detained man, identified as Metsidiq, remains in police custody.
“Legal proceedings are initiated and he will be charged in March when his case is established,” the officer said.
The officer described intensified Ramadan surveillance.
“During this Ramadan we get up at 6 a.m. Beijing time, [which is 4 a.m. local time in Hotan]. During normal months we get up at 9 a.m. Beijing time,” he said.
“We go check the windows to see if the lights in their homes are [lit before sunrise]. If the lights are on, we go into their rooms and investigate. We also check if there are people who locked their doors too early. If they did, we also go into their homes to check. Sometimes if they locked their doors too early [at dusk], we go ask them why they locked their doors too early.”
Fasting from dawn to sunset is a central religious practice during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Alkan Akad, a researcher at Amnesty International, told the Uyghur News Network that the reported inspections would violate international protections for freedom of religion or belief if confirmed.
“If confirmed, inspecting homes to check whether people are fasting during Ramadan would be a deeply troubling violation of privacy and religious freedom,” Akad said. “Fasting is a protected expression of faith, and targeting people for observing it would be discriminatory and unjustifiable.”
He said using compulsory labor to prevent fasting would also violate international law.
“Forcing people into labour activities to prevent them from fasting would amount to coercion and a clear violation of their right to freedom of religion or belief. Using compulsory labour to suppress religious practice is unlawful and deeply concerning.”
Separately, social media posts and phone interviews indicate authorities in Kashgar and Aksu prefectures of the Uyghur region mobilized Uyghur villagers for compulsory labor during Ramadan to discourage fasting. A village official in Aksu told RFA residents are taken for labor each morning for about two hours to repair roads, bridges and irrigation ditches.
“It is not because of production necessity,” the official said. “It is so people who can do physical labor are not left idle. If they have nothing to do, they may gather in groups and something might happen.”
A video posted Feb. 28, the 10th day of Ramadan, on the X account Doğu Turkistan appeared to show Uyghurs gathered in the courtyard of what looked like a local government building under the supervision of uniformed personnel. The caption claimed authorities were forcing Uyghurs to drink water and take medication to break their fast. The claims could not be independently verified.
Henryk Szadziewski, director of research at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, told the Uyghur News Network that forcing people to work to prevent religious observance raises “serious concerns” under international law.
“If individuals are compelled to work specifically to prevent them from observing Ramadan, including fasting, that would raise serious concerns under international human rights law,” Szadziewski said. He noted that such actions would violate Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects the freedom to manifest one’s religion through practice and observance.
He said his organization has documented similar Ramadan-related restrictions in recent years, including cases in which observance of iftar risks an individual being labeled a religious extremist.
The reports come days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“A path to human rights development must reflect national realities and meet the people’s needs,” Wang said, calling for a people-centered approach to global human rights governance.
When interviewed by the Uyghur News Network, Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders challenged that position.
“It is not illegal to turn the lights on and off. It is not illegal to fast or not fast. What those police are doing is in no way in conformity with international human rights law,” she said.
Beijing denies allegations of abuse and says its policies are necessary to combat extremism, reduce poverty and maintain social stability.
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the official name used by the Chinese government. Many Uyghurs refer to the region as East Turkistan.
Turghunjan Alawudun, president of the World Uyghur Congress, said Ramadan restrictions have intensified over time.
“Ramadan restrictions are not new in East Turkistan. The Chinese Communist Party continues to tighten religious control year by year,” Alawudun said. “After China began committing genocide against Uyghurs in 2017, mosques were closed or repurposed, religious figures were sentenced, and many people were punished simply for practicing their faith.”
He added that reports of people continuing to fast secretly demonstrate that “After years of intense pressure and social engineering, China has not succeeded in eliminating Uyghur religious identity.”
The United States has determined that China’s actions in Xinjiang constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. Several parliaments and rights groups have reached similar conclusions. Beijing denies the allegations.
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