A Uyghur student has been missing in Hong Kong for over two weeks, following a message he sent mentioning interrogation by Chinese police at the city’s airport, a human rights organization reported Friday.
According to Amnesty International, Abuduwaili Abudureheman, born in Xinjiang, traveled from South Korea to Hong Kong on May 10 to visit a friend but hasn’t been heard from since texting about being interrogated upon arrival.
Expressing deep concern, Alkan Akad, a researcher at Amnesty International China, highlighted the troubling circumstances, particularly amidst China’s alleged crimes against Uyghurs in Xinjiang and its pursuit of Uyghurs abroad.
The situation suggests the student was detained and questioned, raising concerns about Hong Kong’s potential complicity in Chinese human rights violations against Uyghurs.
The UN and various rights groups accuse China of detaining over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps where they reportedly endure torture and sexual abuse.
Amnesty International noted that Abuduwaili Abudureheman, studying in Seoul for seven years, was on a Chinese government watchlist due to his travel history, urging Hong Kong authorities to disclose his whereabouts.
“(He) is at grave risk of torture based on his ethnicity and religion. If he is detained, he must be provided with access to a lawyer and relatives, and protected against any ill treatment,” Akad said.
