The sister of a Uyghur muslim man who has not been seen since being detained in one of China’s internment camps five years ago is fearing for his safety.
It comes after tens of thousands of Communist Party images and documents related to the camp were leaked online.
The Xinjiang police files include classified speeches and internment details for more than 20,000 Uyghurs. The youngest detainee is just 15 years old, while the oldest is 73.
Kiwi Uyghur and Fulbright scholar Rizwangul NurMuhammad’s brother Mewlan was arrested in 2017 and has not been seen since.
READ MORE: Top Kiwi scholar speaks out for her imprisoned brother
NurMuhammad told Breakfast the leaked images are “really traumatising”, calling it yet more "evidence of this brutal operation the Chinese Communist Party is making over the Uyghurs".
She said reading the report "just made me cry".
"I could see the suffering, the pain, the anxious, the worry, the tears from those eyes."
Mewlan was not among the detainees.
She said the leaked images were a reminder of her brother and his suffering.
"I don’t know if he’s even alive or not."
NurMuhammad said she has been in contact with other Uyghurs poring over the report as they looked for their loved ones.
"I know personally that at least one sister, based in Turkey, she found her family on this list. Her feelings, I can’t really describe with words."
READ MORE: NZ Parliament passes motion on 'severe human rights abuses' of Uyghurs in China
According to the leaked documents, one young man was jailed for 10 years on terrorism charges because he did not drink or smoke, leading police to believe he had strong religious leanings.
His mother was detained because she was related to him.
Another man was jailed for growing a beard, which was claimed to be religious extremism.
Some were jailed for using their mobile phones, while others were jailed for not using the devices enough.
Young children, meanwhile, have been separated from their parents and sent to state-sponsored orphanages.
READ MORE: 'I don't know if they're alive or not' – NZ Uyghurs call on NZ government to intervene
NurMuhammad said the justifications for detaining the Uyghurs were “really, really difficult to comprehend”, adding that it was "criminalising just normal people".
She said while her family has not been given a reason for Mewlan’s arrest, they believe he was detained for travelling to Turkey, one of 26 "sensitive countries" flagged by the Chinese Communist Party.
She said teenagers and people in their 70s were among those detained.
"What is their crime? How can they be labelled as extremists or terrorists? My brother was labelled as a separatist - no way. It is all false accusation."
The CCP continues to claim the internment camps are for re-education purposes, branding the leaked documents as "lies".
READ MORE: China hits back at NZ, Australia over condemnation of treatment of Uyghurs
NurMuhammad said the report is "debunking the claim the Chinese Communist Party have been putting in front of the world".
"It’s not a lie, it’s real people and now we have the photos. Previously, we had names and testimonies but now we have the names, the real people."
She hoped the report would be included as part of the Human Rights commissioner’s visit to Xinjiang.
NurMuhammad called on world leaders to take a stand against the CCP's actions in the region.
"We have received evidence after evidence after evidence and how long? What further evidence would we need to stop this genocide, to make people have their rights given back to them? I would really like to see that."
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