Chinese authorities have detained nearly 800 Uyghurs in Manas county of Xinjiang region, said a media report citing an official from the area who previously worked at the detention facility.
The detention camp, where these Uyghurs are being held, is divided into two adjacent sections, with one housing nearly 500 males and the other with around 270 women, Radio Free Asia reported citing the official.
According to the official, these Uyghur inmates had been arrested for committing “serious crimes,” such as praying, were being taught “the national language” of Mandarin Chinese in the camp.
Notably, as a part of its crackdown on ethnic minority groups, Chinese authorities have targeted and arrested Muslim Uyghur businessmen, intellectuals, and cultural and religious figures in Xinjiang for years, reported the media outlet.
Nearly 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities are said to be held in a network of detention camps in Xinjiang since 2017, allegedly to prevent religious extremism and terrorist activities.
China has been rebuked globally for the crackdown on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities, and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.
However, Beijing has justified the detentions saying the camps are vocational training centres and denied allegations of torturing people in the camps or mistreating other Muslims living in Xinjiang.