China's ambassador to UK denies human rights violations of Uighurs despite drone footage

China’s ambassador to the UK brazenly denied the human right violations of Uighur Muslims living in Xinjiang region after he was confronted with drone footage of hundreds of blindfolded prisoners being led from a train. In an interview with international broadcaster, China’s envoy Liu Xiaoming insisted that Uighurs live in peaceful and harmonious coexistence with other ethnic groups, adding there are no concentration camps in Xinjiang.

In the video, originally posted by an anonymous YouTube account named ‘War on Fear’, hundreds of blindfolded men can be seen sitting in the courtyard outside a train station with their heads shaved and hands tied behind their back. They were then escorted by police officers in SWAT uniform to some other location which has not been captured in the video.

Liu said that he had no idea what the video was showing and he tried to project it as a regular transfer of prisoners. It is believed that China has detained hundreds of Uighur Muslims over the past few years in what they call “re-education camps”. China had earlier denied the existence of such camps but later defended it as a measure against terrorism.

Read: Pompeo Calls On China 'to Immediately End Horrific Practices' Of Sterilization Of Uighurs

Leaked documents tell a different story

Last year, classified documents from within the Communist Party were leaked to International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, revealing China’s crackdown on Uighurs and use of artificial intelligence to monitor these communities in China and abroad. Other internal documents of Chinese government revealed the directives of President Xi Jinping to “show absolutely no mercy” on Uighur Muslims, in the “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism”.

Amid worsening UK-China relationship over Hong Kong and Huawei 5G, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has accused Beijing "gross and egregious" human rights abuses against Uighurs. He told the British news channel that the reports of forced sterilisation and persecution of ethnic minorities were “reminiscent of something not seen for a long time”.

Read: China Foretells 'devastating Consequences' For UK Over Huawei Ban; Cites $20 Bn Investment