Saudi authorities’ plan to Extradite Two Uyghurs to China Would be A Crime against Humanity

Together for Justice strongly condemns the Saudi authorities’ plan to extradite two Uyghur Muslims to China, in clear violation of international treaties and human rights principles, as the deportation poses a grave threat to their lives.

The Saudi authorities have transferred Aimedola Wiley and his friend Nurmiti Rosie, who have been detained in Saudi Arabia since November 2020, to Riyadh in preparation for their forcible deportation to China, despite the repressive practices and violations committed by the Chinese government against the Uyghur minority there.

In February 2020 , Aimedola Wiley (also known as Hamdallah Wali) and his friend Nurmiti Rosie traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, but due to the Corona pandemic, they were unable to return to Turkey, where they live with their family, and remained in Saudi Arabia until they were arrested In November 2020, for no apparent reason. Since then they have been in Dhahban Central Prison in Jeddah before being transferred last week to Riyadh.

Wali and Rozi belong to the Muslim Uyghur minority living in the Xinjiang region, which the Chinese authorities are trying to control and eliminate Muslim presence there, where Muslims are subjected to crimes against humanity that amount to genocide.

We are strongly concerned over the fate Wali and Rosie would face in case of their deportation to China, and we stress on the need to provide them with international protection and to ensure that they are provided with a safe shelter.

We remind the Saudi authorities of their obligation to Wali and Rosie, as a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture, which obligates them to ensure that person is sent to a place where they may be subjected to persecution, torture or other serious human rights violations.