In reaction to the Kashgar Intermediate People’s Court’s recent death sentence handed down to Abdukerem Mamut, Initiatives for China issued the following statement:
We are deeply dismayed by China’s death sentence for Abdukerem Mamut who was accused of “organizing and leading a terrorist group and committing murder”, in connection to the Kargilik incident of 28 February 2012 by the Chinese court; the conviction appears to be politically motivated and expedited, with conflicting accounts of the incidents involved.
We express serious concerns over the trial of Mr. Mamut; torture is systematically used by the Chinese police to obtain confessions, the judicial system is not independent of political influence which impedes due process. Mr. Mamut’s conviction is highly dubious at best.
We urge the international human rights community to send a group of legal experts to review the case to ensure Mr. Mamut’s basic human rights are defended, and review the fairness of the trial.
We also appeal to the Chinese government not to carry out this death sentence until the independent international legal experts have reviewed the case.
IFC believes that the Chinese Communist regime’s heavy-handed policy toward the ethnic Uyghur minority, including Mr. Manut’s death penalty, will further provoke inter-ethnic violence instead of harmony in the region. China must abandon its present policy, improve human rights condition, and take a reconciliatory approach to address the grievance of the Uyghur people.
