Uyghur Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity: Credible Evidence submitted to ICC for the first time asking for investigation of Chinese officials
- Lawyers have submitted a Complaint to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the ICC asking for an investigation to be opened against senior Chinese leaders for Genocide and Crimes against Humanity allegedly committed against the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples.
- The Complaint is filed on behalf of the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM).
- China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute but the Court can exercise jurisdiction over these crimes because part of the criminal conduct has occurred within the territory of two signatories to the Rome Statute – Tajikistan and Cambodia.
- Uyghur victims have been unlawfully deported into occupied East Turkistan from Tajikistan and Cambodia. Upon return to China they have been subjected to crimes together with many other detained Uyghurs including murder, unlawful imprisonment, torture, forced birth control and sterilization, and forced marriages.
- This has been a concerted and widespread campaign by the Chinese government to round up tens of thousands of Uyghurs abroad and those who have fled persecution, to force them back into occupied East Turkistan.
- The submission identifies the roles played by senior Chinese officials (including President Xi Jinping), requesting the Prosecutor to investigate them for planning and directing the campaign in which these widespread crimes are being perpetrated.
- The Complaint has been prepared by a legal team led by British Barrister, Rodney Dixon QC, Temple Garden Chambers, London and The Hague.
- A full press conference to mark the anniversary of the Urumqi massacre and submission of the Complaint will be held on Tuesday July 7th 2020 at 9.30 AM in Washington DC and 3.30 PM in The Hague. (See details below.)
