Blinken meets Uyghur Muslims previously detained in Chinese camps

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday met with Uyghur Muslims who were previously detained in Chinese camps.

Blinken met seven camp survivors as well as relatives and advocates virtually, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. 

“The secretary thought it important to meet with these individuals to hear firsthand their stories, to hear firsthand their impression of the ongoing atrocities in Xinjiang and the internment of a million Uyghurs,” Price said, according to The Associated Press. 

“Also, it’s an opportunity for these participants to offer any recommendations they may have,” he added.

The treatment of Uyghur Muslims and the internment camps to which they are being sent have been among the many points of contention recently between the U.S. and China.

The U.S. has called China’s treatment of the Uyghurs a genocide, while China continues to deny the accusation and allegations about the conditions of the camps. 

The U.S. has placed sanctions on China for its human rights abuses and threatened to add more sanctions on Tuesday.

“America has spoken out very clearly and consistently about the abuses, about the atrocities, about the ongoing genocide that is taking place in Xinjiang,” Price said. “And, as we deem appropriate, I suspect we’ll be employing additional tools going forward to hold to account those officials responsible for what has taken place there.”