Hague: After years of getting tortured for their identity, the Uighurs have finally approached the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking justice.
According to the media reports, the overseas representatives of the Uyghur community have filed evidence to the ICC demanding a formal investigation of China and its top leaders for human rights violation.
According to the petition, the crimes have taken place on a mass scale and should, therefore, all be investigated to ascertain whether the alleged perpetrators can be charged and tried.
The top leaders who have been blamed for the crimes include President Xi Jinping, his predecessor Hu Jintao and several senior Xinjiang province officials and military commanders, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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"There is a clear legal pathway to open a case and investigate," Rodney Dixon, Lond lawyer representing the overseas Uyghur petitioners, was quoted as saying.
"This is not symbolic," he added.
As the Chinese government does not accept the ICC's jurisdiction, the petitioners argue that in 2018 the ICC had said that it had jurisdiction to probe into the violence against Myanmar's minority Rohingya community because of crime like deportation of civilians took place in Bangladesh, which is a party to the court.
Similar deportations have taken place in Tajikistan and Cambodia, which are parties to the court, the Uyghur groups were said while adding that these countries allowed China to repatriate people who were later murdered, tortured or sterilised.
Also read: Uyghurs urge UN to strip China of its participatory status at UNHRC
(With inputs from ANI)
