Morocco: Uyghur man at imminent risk of deportation to China

Computer designer Idris Hasan could face torture if sent to China

‘Please be fast, or they’re going to send me back to China’ - phone warning to his wife in Turkey 

His deportation by Morocco ‘would violate international law’ - Joanne Mariner

Amnesty International is extremely concerned for the safety of an ethnic Uyghur man who faces possible deportation from Morocco to China where he would be at risk of torture.

Idris Hasan, a 34-year-old father of three, was arrested last week after flying into Morocco from Turkey, before being taken to a prison near the town of Tiflet. 

Hasan, a computer designer, holds Chinese nationality and a Turkish residency permit and has been living in Turkey since 2012 with his wife Zaynura and their three children. His wife and children have permanent residency permits in Turkey, but his own residency is categorised as “humanitarian”. 

The Chinese government reportedly considers Hasan a “terrorist” because of his past work for Uyghur organisations. Chinese law defines “terrorism” and “extremism” in an extremely broad manner and has frequently been used to crack down on Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

Last Friday (23 July), Hasan phoned his wife Zaynura from prison in Morocco, telling her he believed he would soon be deported to China. He has not been heard from since this call.

Zaynura told Amnesty: 

“Hasan said, ‘They took me to prison at the request of China. Please be fast, or they’re going to send me back to China’.”

Joanne Mariner, Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Director, said:

“The Moroccan authorities must ensure Idris Hasan has immediate access to a lawyer, the ability to challenge any removal orders, and allow his family to contact him to ensure his safety.

“Deporting Idris Hasan to China, where Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are facing a horrifying campaign of mass internment, persecution and torture, would violate international law.” 

Mass persecution in Xinjiang

Last month, Amnesty published a major report revealing how hundreds of thousands of Muslim men and women in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are being subjected to arbitrary mass detention, indoctrination and torture. The report included dozens of testimonies from former detainees detailing the extreme measures taken by the Chinese authorities since 2017 to root out Islamic religious beliefs and traditions, as well as the cultural practices and local languages of the region’s Muslim ethnic groups. Carried out under the guise of fighting “terrorism”, these crimes have targeted ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hui, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tajiks. Amnesty has launched a campaign calling for the closure of China’s Xinjiang internment camps.