A trove of documents and photographs allegedly obtained by hackers is purported to reveal the extent to which Uighur Muslims are brutalized in China’s “re-education camps.”

Among the information leaked to the international press is the discovery that many prisoners are held on trumped-up “terrorism” charges with excessively long sentences, as well as a shoot-to-kill order for anyone who attempts to escape. Guards are allegedly positioned in watchtowers with machine guns and sniper rifles to carry out precisely that, the Daily Mail reported.

Some photos in what is dubbed the Xinjiang Police Files show detainees in shackles and hoods under threat of being beaten by guards equipped with helmets, shields and wooden bats. However, it is unclear if the photos are of actual detainees or if they were taken to document drills conducted by those operating the “camps.” Either way, it appears the Chinese authorities have little to give in the form of compassion.

The files are said to reveal the terrified faces of some 3,000 detainees referred to as “students.”

(Video: Daily Mail)

One such detainee was given a ten-year sentence for “not smoking or drinking” which the communist government believes is a sign the man is a Muslim terrorist. His mother was also the target of authorities for her “guilt by association.”

One man was allegedly given a 17-year sentence for growing a beard.

In addition, charges are leveled and sentences handed down retroactively for supposed acts of terrorism that occurred before the government commenced its crackdown on the Uighur Muslim population in 2014.

(Video: Daily Mail)

Other examples include a man sentenced to ten years in the camps for studying “Islamic scripture with his grandmother” for merely a few days in 2010. Hundreds more are believed to have been targeted for using smartphones to listen to “illegal lectures.”

Dr. Adrian Zenz, a scholar at the US-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation received the materials from a source who claimed to have decoded the encrypted files from Xinjiang police servers.

“We have everything – we have confidential documents. We have speech transcripts where leaders freely talk about what they really think,” he said; adding, “It blows apart the Chinese propaganda veneer.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. appeared to defend the communist government’s actions in a statement responding to news of the leaked files.

“Xinjiang-related issues are in essence about countering violent terrorism, radicalisation [sic] and separatism, not about human rights or religion.”

“The truth is the education and training centres in Xinjiang are schools that help people free themselves from extremism,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in 2019.

More from the Daily Mail:

The youngest detainee: Rahile Omer, 15.

The youngest Uighur detainee was just 15 when she was held by the Chinese authorities over a family connection. Rahile Omer was targeted because her Muslim mother was serving six years in prison for allegedly disturbing “the social order” by following “extreme religious practices.” Her father had already been sent to a “re-education camp.”

Tursun Kadir, 58, was made to shave after “growing a beard under the influence of religious extremism.” He was also accused of preaching and studying Islamic scripture dating back to the 1980s, he was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months in jail.

The oldest detainee, Anihan Hamit, 73, was held on unknown charges.

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Frank Webster

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Frank (Chip) Webster is a musician and composer, former teacher of percussion and U.S. Army Infantry veteran. He holds a degree in English from Arizona State University.

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