Editor’s note: This story has been updated after a new statement from Amnesty International. The update appears first in italics; the original story appears below.
Amnesty International acknowledged Tuesday that a Uyghur student who it had said was missing in Hong Kong after being interrogated did not travel to the city, easing concerns over his safety but raising questions over how the allegations first emerged.
The human rights group said last Friday that Abuduwaili Abudureheman, who was born in Xinjiang in western China, had traveled to Hong Kong from South Korea to visit a friend on May 10 and had not been heard from since he texted his friend about being questioned at the city’s airport.
But Amnesty International said the student told the group on Tuesday that he did not travel to Hong Kong, “contrary to previous information received.”
“We are pleased that Abuduwaili Abudureheman is accounted for,” it said. “We will continue to strive to offer support to people who reach out to us when they believe they or their loved ones are at risk of human rights violations.”
It did not provide further details about what had happened, and did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The correction by Amnesty International came after Seoul’s Kookmin University, where the student is pursuing a doctorate in sports studies, told The Associated Press that he was still in South Korea. It said the student has been frequently contacting his professor over his doctoral preparations.
The school declined to provide the student’s contact details, citing privacy concerns. It did not provide evidence of the student’s whereabouts, but said the professor communicated with him and confirmed his presence in South Korea. The professor didn’t respond to calls from the AP.
Abuduwaili Abudureheman has been studying in Seoul for seven years. In alleging his disappearance, Amnesty International said last Friday that he appeared to have been detained and interrogated at Hong Kong’s airport. It raised questions about the Hong Kong government’s possible involvement in human rights violations that rights groups accuse the Chinese government of committing against Uyghurs.
A day later, the Hong Kong government called the accusations “groundless and unfounded” and an attempt to smear it. It said government records showed the student had not entered the city, nor was he refused entry, and it requested an apology from the group.
Amnesty International did not apologize in its correction. Instead, it said it will continue to monitor the human rights situation of Uyghurs in mainland China and overseas, as well as the human rights situation in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s government expressed outrage at the lack of an apology and said Amnesty International was “attempting to cover up its mistakes and excuse itself for making the fabricated and malicious remarks that slandered Hong Kong and the mainland.”
The United Nations and human rights groups accuse China of detaining a million or more Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim groups in camps where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted and forced to abandon their language and religion.
China denies the accusations, which are based on interviews with survivors and photos and satellite images of the Xinjiang region where many Uyghurs live.
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A Uyghur student has been missing in Hong Kong for more than two weeks since he sent a message saying he was being interrogated by Chinese police at the city’s airport, a human rights group said Friday.
Amnesty International said Abuduwaili Abudureheman, who was born in Xinjiang in western China, traveled to Hong Kong from South Korea, where he is studying for a Ph.D., to visit a friend on May 10. He has not been heard from since he texted his friend about being interrogated after his arrival.
“The unknown fate of Abuduwaili Abudureheman is deeply worrying, given the background of crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs by the Chinese government in Xinjiang, and its ongoing pursuit of Uyghurs who have traveled overseas,” Amnesty International China researcher Alkan Akad said in a statement.
He said the student appears to have been detained and interrogated, and that raised questions about the Hong Kong government’s possible involvement in human rights violations committed against Uyghurs by the Chinese government.
The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with a promise that it could retain its Western-style freedoms and autonomy for 50 years. But critics say Beijing is increasing its control over the territory and reducing its liberties.
Most controversially, a National Security Law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020 stipulates that crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism, and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements” can be punished by life in prison. Individuals charged under the law – which applies to both Hong Kongers and foreigners, including those who are just visiting the city – can be sent to mainland China for trial.
Critics say the offenses outlined in the National Security Law are overly vague, allowing the government broad leeway to arrest and charge people for political speech and innocuous interactions with foreigners.
The United Nations and human rights groups accuse China of detaining a million or more Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim groups in camps where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion.
China denies the accusations, which are based on interviews with survivors and photos and satellite images of the Xinjiang region where many Uyghurs live.
Beijing has also pushed for Uyghurs who have sought asylum abroad in countries like Turkey and Thailand to be deported back to China, where many fear they face imprisonment or torture.
Amnesty International said it understood that Abuduwaili Abudureheman, who has been studying in Seoul for seven years, was on a Chinese government “watch list” because of his history of overseas travel, and urged Hong Kong authorities to reveal his whereabouts.
He “is at grave risk of torture based on his ethnicity and religion. If he is detained, he must be provided with access to a lawyer and relatives, and protected against any ill treatment,” Akad said.