In de brief van Amnesty International van 28 maart 2012 zijn, voor zover hier van belang, de volgende passages opgenomen:
“The organisation is of the opinion that failed ethnic Uighur asylum-seekers who are forcibly returned to China are at risk of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, execution, unfair trial, and torture and ill-treatment in detention.
Amnesty International is aware that the Chinese government maintains an extensive intelligence and espionage network overseas, targeted particularly at groups it considers ‘sensitive’. That is primarily Uighurs […] The Uighur community in the Netherlands is known to be a target of such intelligence gathering and espionage operations. This information has also been confirmed by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Sevice in its Annual report 2010.
Based on this, Amnesty International considers it likely that the Chinese authorities are aware of Uighur asylum-seekers’ presence in the Netherlands shortly after their arrival, and that they follow closely the activities of Uighurs in the Netherlands, particularly those who apply for asylum and who are politically active.
As also stated in the Thematic Country Report [het ambtsbericht], Amnesty International is aware of cases in which the fact of applying for asylum is considered as disloyalty to the motherland and, as such, ground for punishment of prosecution in China.
It is Amnesty International’s assessment that, given the current political situation in the XUAR, Uighurs who have been active in overseas political and/or human rights activities and who have apllied for asylum would face heightened risk of human rights violation if they are forcibly returned to China.
Uighurs in any form of detention in the XUAR are at heightened risk of torture and ill-treatment. This is particularly the case for those suspected of political activities –which include expressions of support for Uighur cultural of ethnic identity, or even the simple transmission of information to foreign sources.
The human rights consequences for Uighurs who have applied for asylum and have subsequently been rejected and forcibly returned to China, are clear and serious. In past years, Uighurs who have been forcibly returned to China, and subsequently were able to leave the country again, have reported being tortured, arbitrarily detained, punished on the grounds of illegally leaving the country and ‘betraying the Motherland’ for their actions abroad. The fact that these individuals had applied for asylum while abroad has been grounds for the authorities to suspect them of ‘criminal’ activity or intent.
The Chinese authorities maintain an extensive network of professional intelligence staff, based within their overseas embassies and non-governmental organizations, including Chinese media organizations and academics, who monitor the activities of Chinese citizens overseas and report back to Chinese authorities.
In addition, they maintain an effective network of informants who are often themselves members of the target group.
Amnesty International has been monitoring the Chinese overseas intelligence network for many years. Many Uighurs and other Chinese citizens studying of working abroad have reported to Amnesty International that they were pressured to act as informants through coercive measures, including threats to their family members still residing in China, of for other exchange for the ability to obtain a passport, to return or to re-exit from China, of for other benefits. Numerous Uighurs, including students, asylum seekers and others, have reported to the organization how they were approached both overseas and within China by individuals working for the Chinese authorities and pressured into working as informants.
It is Amnesty International’s assessment that an ethnic Uighur who has applied for political asylum abroad and is forcibly returned to China is at risk of human rights violations upon return. Ethnic Uighurs who have been active in overseas political groups would face a heightened risk, as the Chinese authorities routinely blame unrest in the XUAR on such overseas groups. Such a person would almost certainly be detained for interrogation upon arrival and would be at risk of detention, arrest, criminal prosecution and an unfair trial. It is Amnesty International assessment, based on a large number of interviews with Uighurs, that torture of other ill-treatment of Uighurs is endemic in places of detention.”