Uyghur rights groups file criminal case in Argentina against China

August 17, 2022

The Justice Abroad law firm, on behalf of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Washington, D.C.-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), submitted the official criminal complaint to a Buenos Aires court under universal jurisdiction provisions set out in Argentina’s Constitution.

Polak and Argentine lawyers Gabriel Cavallo and Juan Nieto, who have experience using Argentina’s courts to deliver justice for the victims of international crimes, are representing WUC and UHRP.

If a case is opened and an investigation begins, WUC and UHRP must submit evidence demonstrating genocide, crimes against humanity and torture have occurred against Uyghurs and other Turkic groups in Xinjiang. With such evidence, the judge can indict defendants, issue arrest warrants and send the case to trial.

“Our case demonstrates that there is nowhere to hide for regimes responsible for atrocity crimes,” Omer Kanat, executive director of UHRP, said in a statement.

Days after the Dec. 9 decision, WUC and UHRP said they were preparing to submit a criminal complaint to an Argentine court with international jurisdiction, laying out alleged crimes committed against Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang region, according to an earlier RFA report.

Read the full article: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/argentine-court-08172022173804.html