For nearly three years, CNN has been investigating allegations of gross human rights violations and a modern day system of internment camps in China’s Xinjiang region.
In a three-hour exclusive interview, CNN International correspondent Ivan Watson interviewed a former member of the Chinese security forces, who says he was ordered to routinely arrest and torture Uyghur detainees.
The ex-detective turned whistleblower asked to be identified only as Jiang, to protect his family members in China.
During the interview, conducted in Europe where he is now in exile, Jiang revealed rare details on what he described as a systematic campaign of torture against ethnic Uyghurs in the region’s detention camp system, claims China has denied for years.
The methods included shackling people to a metal or wooden "tiger chair" -- chairs designed to immobilize suspects -- hanging people from the ceiling, sexual violence, electrocutions, and waterboarding. Inmates were often forced to stay awake for days, and denied food and water, he said.
In order to help verify his testimony, Jiang showed CNN his police uniform, official documents, photographs, videos, and identification from his time in China, most of which can't be published to protect his identity. CNN has submitted detailed questions to the Chinese government about his accusations, so far without a response.
CNN cannot independently confirm Jiang's claims, but multiple details of his recollections echo the experiences of two Uyghur victims CNN interviewed for this report.
Watch here: https://cnn.it/3a4dCVo
Read the full story here: https://cnn.it/3mmva4V
