Turkey slams treatment of Uighurs

ANKARA: Turkey on Saturday condemned China’s treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people. “The systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities towards Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity,” Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement. “It is no longer a secret that more than one million Uighur Turks - who are exposed to arbitrary arrests - are subjected to torture and political brainwashing in concentration centers and prisons,” he said. Aksoy also said Turkey had learned of the “tragic” death in custody Saturday of Uighur poet and musician Abdurehim Heyit. —