‘We don’t let them go to the toilet and we do not give them food’: Whistleblower describes torture of Uyghurs in camps
A Chinese defector has revealed to Sky News how Uyghur detainees are transported in their hundreds on packed prison trains, along with details of torture and deaths inside re-education centres in Xinjiang.
The man, who says he served as a police officer in Xinjiang and asked only to be identified by the name Jiang, told Sky News of the grim conditions on board the trains.
“We gather them together, put hoods on their head, two people handcuffed together, to prevent them from escaping,” he told Sky News.
Jiang said freight trains were used to transport Uyghurs who had travelled to other parts of China back to Xinjiang
Jiang said that freight trains were used to transport Uyghurs who had travelled to other parts of China back to Xinjiang.
Some 500 detainees would be transported at a time from freight stations, with more than 100 prisoners to each carriage, he said. Two policemen would be assigned to each prisoner.
“During the train transportation we do not give them food,” he said.
“Only bottle caps are allowed to be used for drinking water.
“They are only allowed bottle caps to drink water – to moisten their lips.
“To keep order, we don’t let them go to the toilet.
“They reach their destinations in two days. They reach Xinjiang.”
Uyghurs are allegedly trampled on inside the centres
Drone footage released in 2019 showed apparently Uyghur prisoners being unloaded from a train – blindfolded and shackled, their heads shaved.
Jiang said that the video most likely showed prisoners being transferred from various detention centres to a larger central facility, because of their different uniforms.
Jiang told Sky News he had served as a soldier before working as a detective in a local Public Security Bureau.
He provided extensive documentation of his credentials, including pictures, videos, police graduation and registration certificates, and other official documents. The specific details he alleged are impossible to verify.
A whistleblower says that this video most likely showed prisoners being transferred from various detention centres to a larger central facility
Sky News asked the Chinese government for comment on Jiang’s allegations but did not receive a response before publication.
It has previously described accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang as “the lie of the century” and insisted that people in Xinjiang live happy lives.
Jiang’s testimony contradicts that. Evidence from those who worked for the Chinese state in Xinjiang is extremely rare.
Drone footage released in 2019 showed apparently Uyghur prisoners being unloaded from a train – blindfolded and shackled, their heads shaved
He described the brutal tactics used by police and camp guards.
“In cases related to politics, jeopardising the regime, cases involving overthrowing the regime – you’re allowed to beat people,” he told Sky News. “It’s ok, to make them turn in other people’s names.”
“You use various methods to put pressure; two people use sticks to weigh down their legs; tie him up and trample their arm; shackle their hands, pour cold water – put a water pipe into their mouth and tie them up,” he added.
“How to say, under this kind of management in the re-education centre, beating somebody to death, for sure, it happens.”
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June: Uyghur torture victim: I was chained for 4 months
“If accidents occur, it’s normal that some people die. That’s just how you get used to saying it. Please do not blame me.
“They don’t see ordinary people as human beings. They do things that you don’t do to human beings.”
Jiang said he usually worked in criminal investigation departments elsewhere in China but was dispatched to Xinjiang as part of an “Aid Xinjiang” programme which involved tens of thousands of armed police and ordinary officers being transferred to the region.
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June: How China is erasing Uyghur cemeteries
He told Sky News that Xinjiang “was in a state of wartime control” when he was posted there in 2018.
“When I got there, more than 900,000 people had already been detained for numerous petty reasons like saying something wrong. They had been sent to the re-education centres to be controlled.”
“We detained them on orders from the superiors. Not on any evidence. What kind of evidence can we have? What kind of evidence does this need?”
Jiang said that people in Xinjiang lived under constant surveillance
He said that people in Xinjiang lived under constant surveillance, physically and digitally.
Grounds for suspicion and detention included differing opinions on the government, appealing to higher authorities for help, or even not selling alcohol and cigarettes, he said – all could be considered “ideological issues” justifying re-education.
Jiang drew a distinction between those sentenced to prison and those sent to re-education centres.
“Those who actually contacted other people and planned to rebel, they can be sentenced.
The Chinese government has released videos of Uyghurs singing and dancing in the re-education centres
“But in people in the re-education centres are not severe enough to be sentenced.
“They have problems with their thoughts.”
Jiang also said that prisons and re-education centres both contained factories.
“They do different things which can make money, but nobody wants to do,” he said.
The Chinese government has previously described accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang as ‘the lie of the century’
“If one official says that they need to work nine hours, the head of the re-education centre might think, if I make them work two hours more, I can make more money.”
Jiang left China in 2020. He said he was already disillusioned by Communist rule before he arrived in Xinjiang.
He said: “The leadership says very good things on stage: ‘I’ll serve the people! Let’s do our best!’ But offstage, in reality – corruption. They accept bribes every day, they corrupt state property. It’s reached a degree you can’t imagine.”
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Uyghur tribunal into alleged Chinese genocide
“My values collapsed. One’s values about what is right and what is wrong.
“It’s not betraying the motherland, I’m just against the corrupted class.
“I’m not afraid of the danger. I have seen much life and much death. I have seen many dead people. It’s a way for me to free myself.”
World
Israel’s tough words following Iranian attack are ‘a threat, not an action’, Iran’s UN ambassador says
Iran’s ambassador to the UN has told Sky News that Israel’s promise of a significant response to Saturday’s attack is “a threat, not an action”.
Amir Saeid Iravani was speaking exclusively to Sky’s James Matthews after an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Sunday.
The day before, his country launched more than 300 drones and missiles into Israel in response to a strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria earlier this month which killed two Iranian generals. That strike has been widely blamed on Israel.
Follow live updates after Iran’s attack on Israel
Israel’s war cabinet met on Sunday to discuss possible retaliation against Iran, with the country’s broadcaster Channel 12 quoting an unnamed official as vowing a “significant response”.
Mr Iravani said Israel “would know what our second retaliation would be… they understand the next one will be most decisive”.
But he said he believed a conclusion had been reached, adding: “I think there should be no military response from Israel.”
Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani. Pic: AP
The weekend brought long-simmering tensions between the two countries to boiling point, sparking fears that the conflict could spread more widely across the Middle East region.
When asked if his country’s actions had risked escalation towards a wider war, Iranian ambassador Mr Iravani said: “It was our legitimate right to respond because they started aggression against our diplomatic premises.”
Israel managed to repel most of Iran’s weekend attack, with the help of its Iron Dome defence system and forces from the US, UK, Jordan and France.
Analysis:
Will Israel let an attack by Iran go unpunished? Probably not
All-out war, or not, in the Middle East?
Ahead of Israel’s war cabinet meeting, centrist minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz said: “We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who, like Mr Gantz, has decision-making powers in the war cabinet, also spoke of forming an alliance “against this grave threat by Iran, which is threatening to mount nuclear explosives on these missiles, which could be an extremely grave threat”.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
Read more:
Iran attack was ‘declaration of war’, Israeli president says
How Biden watched the Iranian attack – and what he told Netanyahu
Late on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined G7 leaders and Arab nations in calling for calm, telling the UN Security Council: “The Middle East is on the brink.
“The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict – now is the time to refuse and de-escalate.”
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Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood threatened additional measures at the global body to hold Iran accountable, warning: “If Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible.”
The US has already said that, while it does not seek to escalate the conflict, it will continue to defend Israel.
It is “about time” the world faced the “empire of evil in Tehran”, Israel’s president has told Sky News.
World leaders also need to “make it clear” to the Iranian regime that its behaviour is “unacceptable”, Isaac Herzog added.
He described Iran’s launch of more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday as “just another example of how they have operated for years and years”.
Follow live updates after Iran’s attack on Israel
Tehran has been “spreading havoc, terror and instability all over the world, and especially in our region”, he said.
Iran has proxies all over the Middle East and terror cells all around the world, Mr Herzog went on.
“We were attacked last night from four corners of the Middle East with proxies shooting at us, firing missiles and ballistic missiles, drones and cruise missiles,” he said.
“This is like a real war. I mean, this is a declaration of war,” he said, before adding that Israel would exercise restraint.
Asked by Sky’s Middle East correspondent, Alistair Bunkall, whether he agreed with the comments of Western allies who are calling for calm, Mr Herzog said: “The last thing that Israel is seeking in this region since its creation is to go to war – we are seeking peace.”
Rishi Sunak confirmed the RAF shot down “a number” of Iranian attack drones.
The UK prime minister said “additional planes” were sent to the region as part of operations already under way in Iraq and Syria.
Had Iran’s attack on Israel been successful, the “fallout for regional stability would be hard to overstate”, Mr Sunak added.
“This was a dangerous and unnecessary escalation which I have condemned in the strongest terms,” he said.
US planes reportedly downed Iranian drones over northern Syria too.
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Will Israel respond to Iran’s attacks?
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces is “poised and prepared for further aggression”, IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told Sky News.
He also called the defence of Israel a “unity of reasonable players against the diabolical plan of Iran”.
Asked if Israel would respond, he said: “It’s a very good question. We are looking towards the government today, the government will convene later today and they will make their decisions and instruct the military accordingly.”
Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said it was responding to an “attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus” on 1 April.
Two generals and seven members of the IRGC were killed in the strike, which Tehran blamed on Israel. Israel has not publicly commented.
Joe Biden has reaffirmed the US’s “ironclad” commitment to Israel’s security after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles in an “unprecedented” attack.
With additional launches in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, over 300 drones and missiles, including 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles, were fired at Israel.
RAF planes were involved in the defence of Israel on Saturday evening in a support capacity, Sky News understands, while US planes reportedly downed Iranian drones over northern Syria.
Follow live updates of Iran’s attack on Israel
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency war cabinet to discuss the situation late on Saturday night, while, in Washington, US President Joe Biden also held an emergency meeting with top security officials.
Benjamin Netanyahu with his war cabinet on Saturday. Pic: Israeli PM’s office
In a statement following the meeting, Mr Biden reaffirmed the US’s “ironclad” commitment to “Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies”.
Across Israel, the military sounded sirens in multiple locations in southern areas last night as well as in parts of the occupied West Bank, an alert app showed.
A matter of hours after the attack from Iran, Lebanon fired rockets into northern Israel – who responded with their own launches.
Sky News international correspondent Alex Rossi, in Jerusalem, said he had heard “explosions” and seen “what look like air defence interception systems”.
Objects are seen in the sky above Jerusalem after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel in Jerusalem
Interceptor missiles are launched into the sky in Jerusalem
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it was responding to an “attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus” on 1 April.
Two generals and seven members of the IRGC were killed in the strike, which Tehran blamed on Israel. Israel has not publicly commented.
However, early on Sunday morning, a senior Israeli source told Channel 12 TV that the country was planning a “significant response” to the Iranian drone salvo.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran would “not hesitate” to take “further defensive measures” to “safeguard its legitimate interests against any military aggressions”.
The response will be “much larger than last night’s if Israel retaliates against Iran”, the chief of staff of its armed forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state TV. IRG commander Hossein Salami added that Tehran will retaliate against any attack on its “interests, officials or citizens”.
An airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, killing or wounding a number of Iranian commanders earlier this month. Pic: AP
Ten-year-old “severely injured” by shrapnel
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari told a news conference “99%” of the projectiles were intercepted.
Mr Hagari said: “Regretfully, a 10-year-old was severely injured from shrapnel. We send them our wishes of quick recovery.
“Except for them, as far as we know, there have not been any other casualties and yet this event is not over.”
He added: “Iran pushed the Middle East towards escalation. We will do whatever is necessary in order to defend Israel.”
Air sirens sound in Israel
As the IDF announced the Iranian attack had begun, as did the White House, this weekend, it advised people in the Golan Heights, Nevatim, Dimona and Eilat to take shelter.
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Sky’s Alex Rossi reports live from Jerusalem
More than 300 drones and missiles were launched by Tehran, along with 30 cruise missiles – 25 of which were intercepted outside Israel’s borders, according to the IDF.
They said Israeli forces had “successfully intercepted” the majority of the launches with its air defence system – as well as with help from its strategic allies – before they reached Israel.
Mr Hagari said the Nevatim Air Force base had been targeted and struck, suffering “slight damage to infrastructure alone” but it continued to function.
US President Joe Biden meets with members of the National Security team. Pic: White House via AP
Mr Hagari also said 120 ballistic missiles were launched at Israel, but only a few managed to cross the border.
Drones were seen flying from Iran, through Iraqi airspace and in the direction of Israel, two Iraqi security sources told Reuters.
The drones are carrying 20kg of explosives each, Amos Yadlin, a retired general in the Israeli air force, told Channel 12 TV.
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Iraq and Jordan close airspace
An ‘unprecedented’ attack
Mr Biden labelled the attack by Iran and its “proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq”, as “unprecedented”.
He condemned it in the strongest possible terms and said that the US military had moved aircrafts and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week.
He also spoke to Mr Netanyahu and reaffirmed his “ironclad” support for Israel and said he was going to convene his fellow G7 leaders in response to “Iran’s brazen attack”.
‘Attack further undermines regional security’
US, British and French planes assisted in the Israeli response to the attack.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement that additional RAF jets and air refuelling tankers had also been deployed to the region to “bolster” Operation Shader – the UK’s existing counter-IS operation in Iraq and Syria.
“In addition, the jets will intercept airborne attacks within range of our existing missions,” he said.
“I strongly condemn the senseless airborne attack that Iran has launched on Israel. It serves no benefit other than to further undermine regional security.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Jets from Jordan are also thought to have shot down Iranian drones flying across their airspace towards Israel, security sources have told the news agency Reuters – despite Tehran issuing an earlier warning to the country not to interfere with their strikes.
Israeli aviation authorities closed the country’s airspace to all flights – but it was reopened again several hours after the attacks.
Wing of Zion – Israel’s version of Air Force One – is airborne because of “operational considerations” and Mr Hagari added that the situation was “still unfolding”, and Israel continued to monitor its borders.
‘Reckless attack’
Earlier, Israel called off school trips and other youth activities planned for the coming days.
Jordan temporarily closed its airspace, state media reported, as did Iraq. Both have now reopened.
Egypt said its air defences were on alert.
Eithad airways has cancelled its services today to Tel Aviv in Israel and Amman in Jordan.
Read more:
Direct attack against Israel by Iran is unprecedented
Iran attack on Israel: Everything we know so far
Israel’s PM vows Rafah invasion will go ahead
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Explosions light up the sky above Jerusalem
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he condemned “in the strongest terms the Iranian regime’s reckless attack against Israel”.
He added: “Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.
“The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “We condemn the Iranian regime’s decision to subject Israelis to these unacceptable attacks.
“The international community has been united in urging restraint, and we regret that, yet again, Iran has chosen a different, dangerous path.”
Saudi Arabia also called on all parties to exercise the “utmost levels” of restraint and to spare the region and its people the dangers of war, while UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres also urged “maximum restraint”.
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