Uyghur Life Persists in Kashgar Amid Growing Tension in Restive Xinjiang Province (Photo : Getty Images)
Eli Yasin, a resident of Chaghraq township, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, was sentenced by a court to a seven-year prison term for watching a movie. The film that the Uighur man viewed was about Muslim migration.
Sending Yasin to jail would also prevent him from going overseas and joining a jihad or holy war, reported Radio Free Asia. He was arrested in 2015, but a village official denied the government’s accusation that Yasin planned to become a jihadist.
Hesen Eysa, Karasu Village security chief, pointed out that Yasin and the rest of his family members are all aged 40 and above. They are a clan of farmers, and typical of those engaged in agriculture, were hard up financially and could barely survive or send their children to school.
Besides Yasin, his two sisters and their husbands, who live in Toxula Town, were also arrested. The name of the film that Yasin watched is unknown. No details have been provided about the movie, according to RFA.
“They showed no sign of opposing the government. At least I ever saw any signs of this,” said Eysa, who added that as security chief of the village, he would have a difficult time explaining Yasin’s arrest and the government accusation of the man’s alleged plot to join a jihad.
A number of Uighurs are suspected as sympathizers of the Islamic State. This has led to several crackdowns against them. In December 2015, a raid was conducted leading to the death of 28 suspected militants in the hands of Chinese paramilitary forces. Because the Uighurs are a predominantly Muslim Turkic minority, which is the majority of the population in Xinjiang, many residents complain of discrimination and marginalization by China.
