ICC denies probe into Uighur Muslims plight

Office of ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced it cannot act on the complaint lodged by Chinese Uighur Muslims over crimes against humanity by the Chinese government dealing a huge blow to the human rights of the minority and its diaspora.

The case against China was presented in July, when the ICC was handed a significant dossier by exiled Uyghurs showing evidence of the authorities' persecution of the minority in the north-west province of Xinjiang.

The crimes against humanity included the detention of over one million Uyghurs and others in to so-called "re-education camps" and the torture, sexual abuse and forceful sterilization of women in order to change the demography of Muslim-dominated area.

That dossier has now been rejected by the office of ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, however, due to the fact that the crimes were committed within the territory of China which is not a signatory state to the ICC.

According to the report, the Uyghur claimants have urged the ICC to reconsider the decision "on the basis of new facts or evidence," reasoning that the court could at least work on the deportation cases due to the fact that both Tajikistan and Cambodia are members of the institution.

China has repeatedly denied the reports and evidences of the detention camps it is keeping large sectors of the Uyghur population in, and has condemned claims that it is repressing the minority Muslim population in the region.

ICC denies probe into Uighur Muslims' plight