Popular Uighur comedian disappears in China's Xinjiang region

The well-known Uighur comedian Adil Mijit has been missing in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region for two months.

Uyghur comedian Adil Mijit is shown in an undated photo.
TRTWorld

Uyghur comedian Adil Mijit is shown in an undated photo.

A prominent Uighur comedian has gone missing in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China.

Adil Mijit, 54, was a popular comedian in Xinjiang, where he performed hundreds of shows each year. But his family say they have not seen or heard from him in two months.

They believe he may have been sent to one of China's so-called re-education camps in the region which has a large Muslim Uighur population.

Beijing says education is needed to combat extremism and has strongly refuted any suggestion that it is mistreating its Uighur minority.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Shuang Geng with respect to reports of the camps, "I need to emphasise here that the society in the region is stable and people there live and work in peace and contentment. The measures taken by the Chinese side are completely for anti-terror needs."

But the disappearance of this popular comedian has raised fears among other prominent members of the community.

TRT World's Omer Kablan has more.

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