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China-born opponent of Xinjiang crackdown Serikjan Bilash goes on trial in Kazakhstan

  • Popular campaigner has helped put the spotlight on alleged rights abuses perpetrated against Turkic minorities in China’s far western region
  • Lawyers win appeal to have trial transferred to a court in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city

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Serikjan Bilash was detained after calling for an informational “jihad” to oppose Chinese pressure on minorities in Xinjiang. Photo: AFP

A court in Kazakhstan on Monday held a first hearing of a case against a China-born activist accused of inciting ethnic discord while opposing Beijing’s crackdown in its troubled Xinjiang region.

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Serikjan Bilash, a naturalised Kazakh citizen born in China, was detained in March before being placed under house arrest.

The popular campaigner has helped put the spotlight on alleged rights abuses perpetrated against Turkic minorities in Xinjiang.

Critics say his arrest appeared to be the result of pressure from Kazakhstan’s economically powerful neighbour.

Bilash’s supporters – mostly ethnic Kazakhs born in China – packed a court in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan on Monday and cheered after a judge ruled that the case be transferred to a court in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

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