BBC News, Beijing
21 October 2009 05:48 UK
By Michael Bristow

Dozens of ethnic Uighurs have disappeared since being detained in the wake of the riots in China’s Xinjiang region, a human rights group has said.  Human Rights Watch said the 43 men and teenaged boys were taken in police sweeps of Uighur districts of Urumqi, and had since vanished without a trace.

The riots and protests in the city in early July left nearly 200 people dead.  China’s central government declined to answer questions about those detained by the authorities in Xinjiang.  It referred questions about the ethnic unrest to the regional government, which also did not respond to enquiries from the BBC.

‘Not global leadership’

“The cases we documented are likely just the tip of the iceberg,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.  The rights group is calling for the Chinese government to give details of everyone it is holding in detention.
In a report on the disappeared people, HRW said the police had searched two Uighur areas of Urumqi immediately after the riots. At least 43 people were taken away and had not been heard of since.

“According to witnesses, the security forces sealed off entire neighbourhoods, searching for young Uighur men,” the group said.   more …