Xinjiang court to hear defamation case against German researcher Adrian Zenz over forced labour claims
- The law suit, which has been endorsed by Beijing, claims the US-based academic’s work caused significant losses to Shache Xiongying Textile Limited
- Zenz says case is ‘ridiculous’ and highlights how desperate China is after being accused of committing genocide against the Muslim Uygur population
A court in Xinjiang will hear a defamation case against a German researcher who has accused Beijing of large-scale human rights abuses against Muslims in the far-western region.
A court in Kashgar, the biggest city in southern Xinjiang, accepted the civil case filed by Shache Xiongying Textile Limited on April 2, according to a Friday post by ts.cn, a news outlet affiliated with the Xinjiang government.
A spokesman said the company had suffered from heavy economic losses due to Zenz’s “distorted” studies. The lawsuit asks the court to order Zenz to stop his research, pay compensation and apologise to the company.
The US-based researcher is banned from entering China or doing business there and it is not clear how such an order could be enforced if the court rules against him.
Zenz said on Monday he has never been contacted directly about the lawsuit. “It’s all claims, unverified claims. They might be gradually trying to use this for propaganda purposes,” he said.
