Thread by @j_smithfinley

eventbrite.co.uk/e/uyghur-tribu… Uyghur Tribunal: Second Hearings start tomorrow. If you're in or near London, get yourself down there.

Geoffrey Nice QC, #UyghurTribunal: "It will become apparent that genocide does not necessarily involve mass killings ... yet genocide without mass killings has not previously been dealt with to conclusion anywhere in the world ... there is no precedent":

Geoffrey Nice QC: "The law comes from legal instruments that came into being after the 2nd World War. The purpose was to prevent suffering...the unbelivable consequences of those two wars...and to prevent ever happening again the annihilations that took place in Germany, Poland."

Uyghur fact witness speaking from Australia about the detention and release of her husband in Xinjiang: "After he was 'graduated' (the first time), he was of course so happy to be home; but [fights back tears] then he was always looking over his shoulder, always living in fear"

Uyghur fact witness: "It is obvious they targeted him because he was Uyghur...he had travelled overseas to Turkey, he'd seen how life was over there. Police officers made it seem like they were brainwashed by going to those countries, so they needed to have their brains cleaned."

Geoffrey Nice QC, summing up the #Uyghur fact witness's written statement regarding how meals were served to her husband while in detention in #Xinjiang: "So... he had to kneel and praise China, or starve".

Dr Elise Anderson (UHRP): On a #Uyghur detainee identifed in the Karakash List: "He occasionally carried out namaz (prayers) at home, he occasionally went to the mosque to pray on a Friday, he occasionally said grace after eating a meal..." Most on the list identifiable as Uyghur

Dr Elise Anderson (UHRP) on reasons for detention in Karakash, #Xinjiang : #1 birth control violations - having too many children; #2 persons considered (vaguely) 'unsafe'; #3 anyone with a previous criminal record; #4 wearing a veil or growing a beard; #6 religious practices.

Dr Elise Anderson on omnipresent PRC state surveillance outside of the #Xinjiang internment camps: "#Uyghurs are not free even when they are - quote - 'free' ". This type of control is aimed only at Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other non-Han peoples; it is not levied at the Han majority.

Dr Elise Anderson responds to Geoffrey Nice QC, who asks what is the CCP's purpose re: #Uyghurs: "The PRC state is very insecure about its political legitimacy.. the CCP wants to eliminate other forms of loyalty that other peoples express, like loyalty to your [non-Han] people."

Dr Elise Anderson: "The point is power, it's about intimidation, sending a message: if you don't behave, you can be here [#Xinjiang internment camp] as well...In my opinion, it would be impossible for these policies to be enacted without the approval of the central authorities".

Dr David Tobin: "The bingtuan [#Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps] is supposed to be semi-autonomous...but there's evidence on paper of frequent meetings with Party & state representatives re: its role [in the situation]...The policy is clearly made by Xi, by the Party."

Dr David Tobin: "I cannot conceive of how the XPCC or central Party [CCP] could not know about what is happening. This is an issue pertaining to the survival of the Chinese state...Xi Jinping APPOINTS Chen Quanguo [to #Xinjiang] because he knows his [previous] work in Tibet."

Dr David Tobin: "It is inconceivable that Xi does not know. Xi keeps on giving speeches about how *well* everything is going in Xinjiang. It is the Party's core role to know about national security..."

Dr David Tobin: "Policies announcing a goal of *fusion* [of #Uyghurs within the majoritarian Chinese nation-state] for me are a smoking gun... for me, the intent [to eliminate] that we are talking about is there."

Dr David Tobin: "All ethnic policy in the PRC is considered a national security issue pertaining to [Chinese] sovereignty... [#Uyghurs] can be prosecuted just for raising issues around ethnic discrimination, because these [criticisms] are seen as a threat to sovereignty."

Chinese lawyer @tengbiao Teng Biao speaking from New York: extra-legal detentions not new in PRC, prior to #Xinjiang, used to "brainwash" Falun Gong practictioners.

Chinese lawyer Teng Biao: What's happening in #Xinjiang now was prefaced in #Tibet by Chen Quanguo - brainwashing centres for Tibetans and Uyghurs differ from earlier models in that they seek to eradicate ethnic #identity.

Teng Biao:"Concentration camps in #Xinjiang are different [to previous brainwashing centres], They form part of genocide. 'Vocational training centres', and 'legal education centres' [elsewhere in China] are worst for violence. Systemic rape in Xinjiang camps is special[unique]."

Teng Biao: "According to HRD reports and to my observations, what is happening in the #Xinjiang camps is much worse than what's happened in Tibet."

Teng Biao @tengbiao, asked if #Xinjiang abuses could take place without knowledge of PRC President, Politburo and leading officials: "Of course, the Standing Members of Politburo make the final decisions; the Party controls everything, the General Secretary (Xi) has more power."

Teng Biao @tengbiao: "From response [of Xi] to international pressure, we can draw the conclusion that without Xi Jinping's decision, Chen Quanguo does not have power to detain at least 1 million people. All the top leaders, and esp. Xi, should be responsible for the genocide."