A Man In China Has Been Jailed For 7 Years For... Watching A Film!
For real.
By Sadho Ram — 11 May 2016, 01:00 PM
A man named Eli Yasin, from Chaghraq township in Aksu Prefecture in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, has been jailed for 7 years for watching a film that is said to be "politically sensitive"
The man, who is an ethnic Uighur, had watched a film on Muslim migration and was possibly "planning to go abroad to wage jihad", Radio Free Asia reported while citing local officials. While details about the specific film he and his family members had watched are unclear, it led to his arrest last year.
Uighurs are a predominantly Muslim Turkic minority. However, they are the majority population in Xinjiang and have long complained of discrimination and marginalisation by the Chinese state, The Washington Post reported.
However, his family circumstances argued against their having had such a plan — 'to wage jihad', reported Radio Free Asia who spoke with Hesen Eysa, the security chief for the jailed man's village
“All of them were over 40 years of age,” Eysa said. “They had a farm, and they were struggling to survive and provide for their children’s education."
“They showed no signs of opposing the government. At least I never saw any signs of this,” he said.
“As a security chief, I am having a hard time explaining these charges to the people in my village.”
“None of this makes any sense. It is very unjust,” he said.
