A Chinese national who spent almost a year detained as a prisoner in Xinjiang, has safely made it to the United States to provide witness to the human rights abuses ongoing in Xinjiang.
According to an exclusive Axios report published on April 12, Ovalbek Turdakun, a Christian and Chinese national, arrived in the U.S. on April 8 and will provide testimony to ongoing human rights abuses occurring in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. His testimony is expected to aid a case brought against China in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in the region. Axios noted that while the main focus is on the abuses of the Uyghur people, other ethnic groups are being targeted as well.
"I feel so happy to safely arrive with my family in America. For us, this means finally realizing a long-held hope," Turdakun told Axios. "First, I'm grateful to our God. I'm also grateful to the U.S. government and the friends who helped us the whole time. We would not have been able to safely arrive in America without their help."
Turdakun is the first Christian to come forward. He previously noted that during his detention in 2018, he and other detainees were tortured in a variety of ways including having circulation cut off from his limbs, being locked in a tiger chair for extended periods of time while being shocked, being interrogated about his loyalty to China because of his marriage to a Kyrgyz woman and injected with mystery "vaccinations" that often killed detainees and left him unable to walk for months on end.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) are noted to have provided key support to Turdakun and his wife as they fled China and journeyed for months to reach the United States.
"I am thrilled that the Ovalbek family has arrived safely in the United States," Smith told Axios in a statement. "Once they have settled in, I anticipate hearing testimony on Xinjiang's forced labor camps."
Just before Turdakun and his wife arrived in the United States, Rubio introduced the Uyghur Policy Act to the Senate on April 7 that would increase the United State's support for Uyghur Muslims and all those tortured by the Chinese regime, as previously reported by State Newswire.
"The CCP is carrying out a disgusting campaign of genocide and human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups," Rubio said in the release, as reported previously by State Newswire. "The United States cannot be silent in the face of such horrific abuse. I'm proud to introduce legislation to increase awareness and advocacy for Uyghurs, and I urge my colleagues to quickly pass this bill."
Axios reports that Turdakun's testimony will be used as evidence in a case that international human rights lawyers have submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that China is committing crimes against humanity in the province of Xinjiang.
