UNPO Condemns Chinese Death Sentences without Fair Trial

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) strongly condemns the decision of the Chinese court to sentence six Uyghur men to death without fair trial.

The men were not permitted any form of legal aid and suffered as a result of discriminatory decisions and a complete lack of transparency throughout the process. The death sentences are further proof of China’s unwillingness to abide by the United Nations Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty, adopted in 2007, which establishes a suspension on executions with the view to abolish the death penalty.

“This goes against all international standards of human rights, most notably the universal right to equality before the law”, Marino Busdachin, Secretary General of UNPO, stated in immediate response to the Chinese decision.Dolkun Isa, Secretary General of the World Uyghur Congress and prominent human rights activist, expressed the need for the international community to respond. “An independent investigation must be carried out, to impartially determine what has truly taken place”, he said. “These men were neither granted their right to a lawyer, nor to a fair legal process, thereby violating both international law and the Chinese constitution.” He continued by stating that “[t]his was not a legal, but merely a political decision”. Immediate involvement of the international community and an independent investigation are urgently needed. “If no response comes”, Mr. Isa said, “the Chinese government has no reason to stop the discriminatory sentencing of the Uyghurs still up for trial.”

http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10191/236/