On 26 December 2020, the Turkish and Chinese governments ratified a treaty creating a route to extradite individuals from Turkey to the People’s Republic of China. The treaty was initially signed in 2017, and, after three years, it comes into force as another measure purportedly to prevent terrorism, according to Chinese officials.
In an ordinary context, this bilateral agreement could be viewed as normal judiciary means to ensure criminals are fairly judged by Turkey or China. However, in the circumstances where Uyghurs are charged with terrorist activities, the extraditions to China may give rise to some issues. The treaty and its ramifications must be viewed in relation to the Uyghur population in Turkey, the effect of China’s far-reaching and ambiguous terrorism laws, and Turkey’s relationship with China.
UYGHURS IN TURKEY
The Turkish Republic has historically been the major destinations of Uyghurs—their cultural and linguistic ties offered a chance for Uyghurs to live in Turkey without restrictions and undue persecution. Though the twenty-two articles in the newly-ratified treaty do not directly mention Uyghurs, there are concerns that the treaty will indiscriminately affect the nearly 50,000 Uyghurs residing within Turkey.
Omer Kanat, Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) Executive Director, stated that “the Uyghur community in Turkey is terrified. It’s our worst nightmare–that China will use strong-arm diplomacy to force Turkey to deport innocent Uyghurs to China, where they face certain detention and torture, or worse.” Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Uighur World Congress, told Agence France-Presse: "This extradition treaty will cause worry among U[y]ghurs who have fled China and do not yet have Turkish citizenship."
CHINESE TERRORISM LAWS
The Uyghurs have been notoriously mistreated in China. In the 2014 “Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism” in Xinjiang, around one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims were detained inside political education camps without any legal process and subjected to political indoctrination and ill-treatment.
As reported by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Chinese law defines terrorism and extremism in an overbroad and vague manner. The Chinese government publicised, particularly in Xinjiang, a list of 75 behavioural indicators of religious extremism. While that list includes some reasonable examples of incitement to violence, such as “inciting the Holy War,” many others are highly questionable. They include a range of vague and imprecise behaviours and symptoms that are considered unusual and thus warrant additional scrutiny, including flagging people who “store large amounts of food in their homes, those who smoke and drink but quit doing so suddenly or those who buy or store equipment such as dumbbells…boxing gloves, as well as maps, compasses, telescopes, ropes, and tents without obvious reasons”.
TURKEY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA
In the past, Turkish officials publicly condemned China’s behaviour against the Uyghurs as “a great shame for humanity”. However the Turkish sentiments toward China’s behaviour have seemingly changed—this may be due to China’s ability to influence and pressure countries by exploiting its economic power.
China’s influence is massive. It is the world’s largest official creditor with $1.5 trillion lent in direct loans and trade credits to more than 150 countries around the globe. Moreover, the historical economic relationship between China and Turkey is well-documented—China provided a $3.6 billion loan to bolster Turkey’s depleted foreign exchange reserves. Thus, the ratification of this treaty coupled with the alliance between the two countries raises concerns regarding whether Turkey can or will protect the Uyghurs moving forwards.
Giuseppe Scuccimarra holds a BA in International Relations and European Studies and a Master’s in Human Rights and Multi-Level Governance from the University of Padua, Italy. He is interested in human rights, rule of law and democracy, and specifically how these manifest in sport and business.