Munich [Germany], December 15 (ANI): The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has raised serious concern over the imminent deportation of Guan Heng, a Chinese national whose secret 2020 recordings of internment camps in East Turkistan helped document abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic communities.
WUC said Guan secretly filmed large detention compounds in 2020, producing rare visual evidence that corroborated survivor accounts and investigative reporting on China’s mass repression. His footage was shared with journalists and researchers and contributed to public records of mass detention, including reporting by BuzzFeed News’ Pulitzer Prize-winning team.
After fleeing China, Guan traveled through several countries and arrived in the United States in 2021 seeking protection. He has lived openly in the US, held a valid work permit, and pursued asylum. WUC noted that Guan is currently detained at Broome County Jail in New York and faces deportation not because his asylum claim was denied but because of his manner of entry. Human Rights in China reports he is awaiting a New York court hearing scheduled for December 15.
WUC warned that returning Guan to China would likely expose him to imprisonment, torture, or enforced disappearance, given his role documenting abuses and cooperating with international media. Chinese authorities have reportedly interrogated and harassed his family. Journalists, rights groups, and China specialists have expressed alarm, saying deportation would chill whistleblowers and witnesses to mass atrocities.
The World Uyghur Congress urged US authorities to halt deportation actions and ensure Guan’s asylum claim is fully and fairly reviewed under US refugee law and non-refoulement obligations. WUC stressed that Guan risked his life to expose crimes the Chinese government sought to hide and, in view of the United States’ recognition of the Uyghur genocide, must not be returned to persecution. (ANI)
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