The Sudzha gas pipeline is also still carrying Russian hydrocarbons to European markets through Ukrainian territory.

Image: Soviet postage stamp celebrating oil pipeline. Via Wikipedia

Photo: The Moscow Times

The Kazakhstani authorities must urgently step back from the reckless misuse of criminal law and do what international human rights standards plainly require: drop these baseless charges and immediately release all the detained Atajurt activists. Peaceful protest is not a crime simply because it makes those in power uncomfortable, even when that discomfort extends to displeasing a powerful geopolitical player such as China.

The call for the protesters’ release came directly before their trial was set to open in the city of Taldykorgan. The group is charged under Article 174 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code for “inciting ethnic or national discord.”

Police detained the 19 activists on Nov. 13 after their peaceful protest near the Kazakhstan-China border in Almaty region. The demonstrators, many of whom are ethnic Kazakhs originally from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, had gathered to demand the release of Alimnur Turganbay, a Kazakhstan citizen detained in China since July under unclear circumstances.

Following the arrests, authorities initially pursued administrative charges, including “hooliganism,” imposing fines and short-term detention of up to 15 days. Reportedly, following a diplomatic note from Chinese authorities, prosecutors escalated the case with criminal charges. Thirteen activists were remanded in custody, while six were placed under house arrest.

Human Rights Watch also urged Kazakh authorities to drop charges and release the activists. Maya Wang, the organization’s deputy Asia director, said the prosecutions signal Kazakhstan’s willingness to “aid China’s repression” rather than defend freedom of expression. The International Partnership for Human Rights and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights & Rule of Law have similarly warned that the case is inconsistent with international standards for protecting the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

Kazakhstan shares a long border with China and is home to a sizable Uyghur and Kazakh diaspora from Xinjiang, where the Chinese authorities have carried out widespread repression since 2016. Human rights groups have documented abuses including mass arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, pervasive surveillance, cultural and religious persecution, and forced labor—acts some organizations and governments have characterized as crimes against humanity.

Notably, this case marks the first time Kazakh authorities have sought to criminally prosecute such a large group of activists in a single proceeding for advocacy related to human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

From JURIST, Jan. 22. Used with permission.

See our last report on Chinese extraterritoriality.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

The new legislation imposes Mandarin language dominance in public life and education across all regions of the People’s Republic. Article 15(3) of the law requires that “if it is necessary to issue documents in minority languages and scripts,” the documents must be accompanied by Mandarin versions, with clear indication that “the national common language” is given “prominence.”

Furthermore, the law introduces mandatory requirements in education, for families and home life as well as schools. Article 12 instructs authorities to “organize education” to ensure “correct views of the state, of history, of the nation, of culture and of religion.” Article 20(2) creates legal obligations for parents to educate minors to “love the Chinese Communist Party.”

Maya Wang, associate Asia director at HRW, noted concerns regarding the new law:

The Chinese government’s draft law on promoting ethnic unity seeks to mobilize the bureaucracy and society to unite people under Chinese Communist Party leadership at the expense of human rights… Tibetans, Uyghurs, and others who speak out for minority populations can expect even greater government repression.

The proposed legislation, entitled the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity & Progress, was submitted to the National People’s Congress on Sept. 8. The law would fundamentally alter China’s legal framework for minority rights. China currently observes a 1984 statute called the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy, which guarantees minorities the right to “use and develop their own spoken and written languages and their freedom to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs.” The new law would effectively overturn the 1984 statute.

Particularly concerning is the new law’s extraterritorial reach. Article 61 establishes legal penalties for “organizations and individuals outside the territory of the People’s Republic of China” that “undermine national unity.” HRW warned that the provision formalizes China’s “transnational repression” practices under domestic law. The vague terminology used in the provision may enable arbitrary enforcement against peaceful expressions of cultural identity even for those outside China’s borders.

HRW called for international pressure to prevent the law’s passage, arguing it would codify systematic oppression of ethnic minorities while expanding China’s authority to suppress dissent globally.

From JURIST, Sept. 29. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo of Uyghur family in Kashgar: Todenhoff/Flickr

Zhang is accused of violating Article 103 of China’s criminal code, which states:

For organizing, plotting, or carrying out any activity to split the country and undermine national unity, the ringleaders or those whose crimes are grave shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years; active participants shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years; and other participants shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, non-custodial correction, or deprivation of political rights.

It is yet to be determined if she will be deemed a “ringleader,” wihch could mean life imprisonment.

Jiang Tianyong, a Chinese human rights lawyer who has aided Zhang, was detained on Sept. 16 while traveling to provide legal assistance in the case.

From JURIST, Sept. 23. Used with permission.

See our last reports on the crackdown on dissent in  China, and efforts at Han-Tibetan solidarity.

Photo: Tibetan Review

Sengdra has appealed three times for a retrial without success to the Supreme People’s Court in Xi’an, and after the last such filing his lawyer was warned not to return under threat of being disbarred. (SFT, Phayul, Tibet Watch, CounterVortex on the scene in Manhattan)

Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is named for the Golok nomadic people of Amdo region, who have faced forced labor and resettlement, which their leaders charge is aimed at cultural extermination.

Photo: CounterVortex

In interviews with Amnesty, distraught family members recounted being prohibited from any form of contact with their loved ones, many of whom were suddenly taken away and imprisoned without due process or formal charges. They spoke of how they have remained in the dark for years about whether their relatives are alive, and how lack of transparency has meant fear and anguish, with one family member describing the uncertainty as a “wound that never heals.”

The comprehensive 2022 report outlined the wide scope of human rights abuses against the group, such as arbitrary detention at “Vocational Education & Training Centers” (VETC facilities), undue restrictions on cultural, linguistic and religious identity and expression through the “Strike Hard” campaign, and the excessive curtailment of the right to privacy and freedom of movement via intensive surveillance. Violation of the reproductive rights of Uyghur women has become alarmingly widespread, with mounting evidence of systematic forced sterilization, coerced birth control measures, rape, and sexual torture. These abuses are not isolated incidents, but were found to be part of broader state-imposed policies aimed at suppressing birth rates among the Uyghur population, amounting to a deliberate assault on both their bodily autonomy and cultural survival.

The deliberate eradication of a minority’s culture, combined with state-imposed measures to limit its birth rates, falls within the scope of genocide under international law.

Collectively, China’s crimes against Muslim minorities—including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hui—may constitute crimes against humanity under international law, Amnesty stated.

Efforts by international human rights organizations—such as Amnesty International’s global petition which has received 323,000 signatures from over 184 countries, and coordinated legislation by parliaments from 11 countries—have helped to shed light on this crucial question. However, meaningful action remains deficient, allowing these abuses to persist with effective impunity.

Amnesty International urged the international community to take more proactive measures in ensuring that the Chinese government complies with is obligations under Article 1 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

From JURIST, Aug. 28. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Amnesty International

Brooks charged that China has long sought to control the selection of the future Dalai Lama through the establishment of national regulations that restrict Tibetans’ right to freedom of religion and violate Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She especially criticized the Measures on the Management of Reincarnation of Living Buddhas, and accused Chinese authorities of being responsible for the 1995 forced disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama.

The Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas is a national Chinese law approved in 2007 that officially recognized the Buddhist reincarnation system, a method of succession in Tibetan tradition. This marked the culmination of a long history of attempts to legislate the reincarnation of living Buddhas dating back to the 18th century. The law outlines rules and procedures governing the succession of Living Buddhas. Article 9 specifies that the reincarnation of Living Buddhas must be approved by various central government departments, such as the State Administration for Religious Affairs and the State Council.

Amnesty International’s statement follows the current 14th Dalai Lama’s announcement that his successor will be reincarnated and that the Gaden Phodrang Trust is the only entity authorized to recognize his future reincarnation. In response, the Chinese government insisted that the reincarnation of the Tibetan Buddhist leader must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn and receive approval from the central government, in accordance with what it calls long-standing historical conventions.

Tibet has been an incorporated region of the People’s Republic of China since 1951, but an independence movement has emerged among the Tibetan diaspora, advocating for separation from China.

The European Union and the United States have expressed concern over charges of human rights violations committed by Chinese authorities against Tibetans. In 2024, the US president signed a bill recognizing Tibet’s religious, cultural and historical identity separate from that of the Chinese people. In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that the bill constituted interference in China’s internal affairs and violated the basic norms governing international relations.

In March 2025, the Chinese government published its own report on the human rights situation in Tibet, boasting major improvements in the region related to social and political rights, as well as religious freedom. In the same report, the government emphasized that protecting human rights requires maintaining security and national unity, asserting that it has made significant efforts to strengthen solidarity among all ethnic groups to counter separatist activities that threaten national security.

From JURIST, July 2. Used with permission.

Notes: The Dalai Lama stepped down as leader of the Tibetan exile government in 2011, while remaining spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, effectively instating a secular transition. In the surreal “reincarnation wars” between Beijing and the Tibetan exile government in Dharamshala, India, it is the officially atheist Chinese state that is appealing to Buddhist fundamentalism, while the Dalai Lama is moving toward modernity and now says he embraces Marxism.

Image via Facebook

After detaining them in squalid short-term holding facilities for more than a decade, Thailand deported 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China on Feb. 27. Human rights groups had been urging the Thai government for over a month to halt any plans to deport the group—though senior officials denied there were any such plans. The removals were carried out in a pre-dawn operation using trucks with blacked-out windows, flanked by police. The Chinese embassy in Bangkok described the men as “illegal immigrants” and said they would “return to normal life.” But rights groups, as well as relatives of the asylum seekers living abroad, worry that the group will remain detained in China—or be sentenced to death. China has previously labelled anyone seeking asylum abroad as a “terrorist.” The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, said the deportations were “a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement” and international law.

From The New Humanitarian, Feb. 28.

See our last report on the Uyghurs in Thailand.

Photo: Jacob Goldberg/TNH

Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin was only serving the public interest by shedding light on abuses linked to land seizures, and should never be detained, let alone denied the right to meet with his lawyer. We call on the international community to build up pressure on the Chinese authorities to secure Liu’s release alongside the 124 other journalists and press freedom defenders detained in the country.

The organization condemned Liu’s detention as part of a broader pattern of repression against journalists and activists in China. The incident marked Liu as the 125th journalist currently detained by the Chinese authorities, raising significant concerns about freedom of expression in the country.

Liu, who blogs under the name Wen Yi Fan, was taken into custody after he posted a video on social media platform WeChat reporting on a protest by farmers in a rural area of Inner Mongolia province against land confiscations by government officials. His coverage focused the grievances of these farmers, who claimed that their land was being seized without adequate compensation or prior consultation. The protest was met with a swift response from local authorities, leading to Liu’s arrest. The 52-year-old blogger has been charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” an offense punishable by up to five years in prison.

From JURIST, Dec. 27. Used with permission.

See our last reports on the land seizures and crackdown on dissent in China.

See our last report on the land struggle in Inner Mongolia.

Photo of Hulunbuir Grasslands, Inner Mongolia. Credit: Sergio Tittarini via Wikimedia Commons