Media Advisory: Free Uyghur Now, Uyghur American Association, Campaign for Uyghurs and Uyghur Human Rights Project to Hold Protests in New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, Canada Calling on Saudi Arabia to Halt Extradition of Uyghurs to China
(WASHINGTON, DC, 4/10/2022) – On Sunday, April 10, Free Uyghur Now, Uyghur American Association, Campaign for Uyghurs and Uyghur Human Rights Project will hold protests in New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada calling on Saudi Arabia to halt its planned extradition of four Uyghurs to China, where they would likely face persecution for their faith and ethnicity.
LIVESTREAMS OF RALLIES: https://www.instagram.com/freeuyghurnow/
Saudi Arabia: Uyghur girl, 13, among four ‘facing deportation’ and torture in China (Amnesty International)
WHAT: Free Uyghur Now, Uyghur American Association, Campaign for Uyghurs and Uyghur Human Rights Project Protest Calling on Saudi Arabia to Halt Extradition of Uyghurs to China
WHERE:
New York Rally: Outside the Consulate of the Kingdom on Saudi Arabia, 866 United Nations Plz Ste 5, New York, NY 10017
Washington DC Rally: Outside Embassy of Saudi Arabia, 601 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037
Los Angeles Rally: Outside Royal Consulate of Saudi Arabia, 2045 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90025
Vancouver Rally: Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2H7, Canada
WHEN: Sunday, April 10 at 3 p.m. EST
Los Angeles Rally on Monday, April 11 at 11 a.m. PST
CONTACT: Free Uyghur Now Executive Director Amal Altareb, info@freeuyghurnow.org, +1 (203) 689-3089; Uyghur American Association Secretary General Elfidar Iltebir, elfidar@uyghuraa.org, +1 (703) 622-6178, Omer Kanat, kanato@uhrp.org, +1 (202) 790-1795, Rushan Abbas, rushan@campaignforuyghurs.org, +1 (559) 375-3571
BACKGROUND:
Hemdullah Abduweli, an Uyghur Muslim religious scholar, and his friend Nurmemet Rozi went to Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. In November 2021, the two men were detained by the Saudi government.
Amnesty International reported that on Thursday, Saudi police arrested Rozi’s former wife Buheliqiemu Abula and their 13-year-old daughter. Free Uyghur Now received information that one of the men is set to be deported to China tomorrow. If deported, they are likely to be subjected to imprisonment, torture and death by Chinese authorities, who are engaged in a genocide of Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim ethnic groups.
In January, more than 70 Uyghur, interfaith and human rights organizations sent letters to the Saudi government calling on them to not deport Abduweli and Rozi to China.
SEE: CAIR, Free Uyghur Now Join 70+ Groups in Calling on Moroccan, Saudi Governments Not to Deport Uyghurs to China
SEE: China committed genocide against Uyghurs, independent tribunal rules
The Chinese government is targeting Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic ethnic minorities with a campaign of genocide. Millions of Uyghurs have been detained in concentration camps in which beatings, torture and rape are the norm. Millions more are being used as slave labor by on plantations and in Chinese factories.
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