Brother of Xinjiang 'witness' debunks torture claims

The brother of a "witness" at the "Uyghur Tribunal" has debunked claims that he and his sister were subjected to torture in a vocational education and training center.

Speaking at a press conference held by the regional government of Xinjiang on Wednesday, Akbar Tursun refuted the narrative of his elder sister Mihrigul Tursun, saying that nobody in their family had been to such a facility.

A Uygur woman named Mihrigul Tursun reportedly told the "tribunal" that she was tortured in a training center and her son died after her return from the center.

Akbar Tursun, however, said that his sister's son received medical treatment for an illness in the Urumqi Children's Hospital in 2016, and after his recovery, Mihrigul Tursun and her husband took the son abroad.

"I was very angry that my sister even said I was tortured to death in the center. How can she spread rumors about her brother's death just for money and to obtain a green card in the United States?" he said.

At the press conference, friends and family members of some "witnesses" countered the "testimonies" made at the "tribunal," while officials and scholars questioned the legal standing and credibility of the body.

It is reported that a "tribunal" set up to assess China's alleged rights abuses against the Uygur people held public hearings from June 4 to 7 in London. According to reports, this "tribunal" is actually a private company registered in Britain, and the major source of its funding comes from anti-China separatist organizations with links to terrorism.

The Chinese embassy in Britain said on Sunday that the "tribunal" is neither legal nor credible, but just another anti-China farce concocted by a few individuals with the end goal of using Xinjiang to contain China.