China bans Uyghurs from visiting ‘sensitive countries’ with large Muslim populations Members of minority community can only travel to limited number of nations such as Kazakhstan for business, Human Rights Watch says.
“Uyghurs are facing stringent conditions and requirements if they want to briefly reunite or even just to communicate with family members in China,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch.
China has imposed severe travel restrictions on Uyghurs from its northwestern region of Xinjiang in violation of their internationally protected right to leave the country, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday.
Some Uyghurs told the rights group that Chinese authorities allowed only one person from a family to travel, holding their immediate family members "hostage" to ensure their return.
The report comes as Chinese authorities start to allow some Uyghurs to travel outside Xinjiang, years after confiscating passports of some members of the ethnic minority and imprisoning them for contacting people abroad.
