Mihrigul Tursun

Mihrigul Tursun (Uyghur: مېھرىگۈل تۇرسۇن‎‎ ; born 1989) is a reported former Uyghur detainee in one of the re-education camps in Xinjiang, China. Tursun said that she was taken into custody several times, including at one of a network of political "re-education camps" and that one of her sons died under mysterious circumstances while she was in the custody of Chinese authorities in 2015.[2] China's Foreign Ministry denied her allegations and gave their own account of the events.[3]

Mihrigul Tursun
Born (1989-12-28) 28 December 1989
Cherchen, Xinjiang, China
Alma materGuangzhou University
British University in Egypt
Known forFormer detainee in Xinjiang re-education camps
Children2 sons, 1 daughter[1]

Testimony in US
Mihrigul Tursun testifies at the National Press Club in Washington

On November 26, 2018, Mihrigul Tursun gave testimony at National Press Club in Washington D.C. In the club she testified that detainees in those camps are beaten, starved, electrocuted, and strip-searched. She said: “My hands bled from their beatings, each time I was electrocuted, my whole body would shake violently and I could feel the pain in my veins, I thought I would rather die than go through this torture and begged them to kill me.”[4][5][6][7][8]

On November 28, 2018, Mihrigul Tursun, speaking through a translator, testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China about her experience over a series of three internments. She said: "There were around 60 people kept in a 430 square feet cell so at nights, 10 to 15 women would stand up while the rest of us would sleep on sideways so we could fit, and then we would rotate every 2 hours. There were people who had not taken a shower over a year."[9][10][11][12][13]

In December 2018, Tursun received a Citizen Power Award.[14][15]

What Has Happened to Me – A Testimony of a Uygur Woman, a Japanese comic book recounting the story told by Mihrigul Tursun by artist Tomomi Shimizu telling become a viral hit in the Internet.[16]

China's reaction

Responding to a CNN report, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying rejected Tursun's allegations and gave their own account of the events. According to Hua, Tursun was taken into custody by Qiemo County police for 20 days from April 21 to May 20, 2017 on suspicion of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination, but she was never jailed or put in a "vocational training" center (the government's term for the internment camps).[4][8] Hua said that apart from those 20 days, she was totally free during her stay in China and traveled abroad extensively. Hua also rejected Tursun's claim that one of her sons died in Ürümqi's Children's Hospital.[3]

On November 27, 2018, the Chinese state-run tabloid, Global Times, said: "It's easy to tell the woman [Tursun] was lying and there must be someone who taught her to speak like this. She might want to obtain asylum in the US."[17] On December 3, 2018, the tabloid released another article criticizing Tursun.[18] On March 14, 2019, China Global Television Network (CGTN) released a video rejecting Tursun's testimony.[19][20] Neither Tursun or other international media have commented on the counter allegations.

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See also

References
  1. "From death to freedom: Horror in Chinese camps(1)". www.rfa.org. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  2. "Interview: 'I Did Not Believe I Would Leave Prison in China Alive'". www.rfa.org. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  3. "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on January 21, 2019". Foreign Ministry of China. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  4. "'I begged them to kill me', Uighur woman describes torture to US politicians". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  5. "Uighur woman describes torture, drugging and degrading treatment in Chinese detention camp". www.japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  6. "Woman describes torture, beatings in Chinese detention camp". www.washingtontimes.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  7. "China will retaliate to any US sanction over Muslim Uighurs: envoy". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  8. "Academics condemn China over Xinjiang camps, urge sanctions". Al Jazeera. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  9. "Muslim woman describes torture and beatings in China detention camp: 'I begged them to kill me'". www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  10. "'I Begged Them to Kill Me.' Uighur Woman Tells Congress of Torture in Chinese Internment Camps". www.time.com. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  11. "In Full – Ex-Xinjiang detainee Mihrigul Tursun's full testimony at the US congressional hearing". www.hongkongfp.com. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  12. "China's repression of Uighurs won't stop until the international community intervenes". www.religionnews.com. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  13. "Uighur mother asks Congress to 'take strong action' against China's re-education camps". www.thehill.com. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  14. The 2018 Citizen Power Awards - Mihrigul Tursun
  15. "Uyghur issue draw attention in Chinese democracy conference". www.rfa.org. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  16. "Manga comic about Uygur woman's ordeal in China a viral hit, despite lack of publicity and shunning by publishers". The Washington Post. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  17. "Bias stops West seeing real Xinjiang". www.globaltimes.cn. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020.
  18. "Have Western media given up duty of objective reporting?". www.globaltimes.cn. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  19. CGTN finds Mihrigul Tursun's claims false, retrieved 27 November 2019
  20. "Xinjiang Update: CGTN finds Mihrigul Tursun's claims false". Pakistan Defence. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
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