With World Cup 2018 underway, all eyes are focused on the game. But many people are unaware of what — or who — is missing on the field.
Hezim was detained soon after he returned home from a football trip to Spain and Dubai.
Correcting religious and political views
Hezim is among the estimated one million Uyghurs in Xinjiang who have been sent to re-education camps for unlearning and correcting their religious and political views.
What happens at re-education camps in Xinjiang is not widely known, but testimonies from ex-internees reveal that the camps — which are operated at county, township and village levels — are secured with barbed wire, surveillance systems and armed police.
Ex-internees said they were sent to the camps without trial and while there, were forced to convert their beliefs and pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
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