Uyghur Activist Alleges Chinese Authorities 'Wasted' Time Checking COVID-19 Tests Instead Of Helping Xinjiang Fire Victims

After ​​at least 10 people were killed and nine others injured in a fire in China‘s Xinjiang region. Now, a Uygur activist has alleged that the authorities wasted hours checking COVID-19 tests before saving the victims. 

What Happened: Tahir Imin, who works to promote Uyghur rights legislation, in a tweet on Friday, blamed Xi Jinping's administration for the death of two Uyghur kids after a fire broke out in a highrise residential building in Urumqi, Xinjiang region. 

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China’s International Press Center did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

"Chinese authorities caused the death of two Uyghur kids today since they wasted two hours to check COVID test before the entry into a building that fire broke out in Tengritagh (Tianshan district )in Urumqi," Imin said. 

Benzinga couldn’t independently verify the report. However, multiple social media reports backed the claim.

According to Imin's Twitter profile, about 20 people from his family, including his mother and two brothers, are imprisoned. "CCP Separated me from my daughter," his bio reads. 

Imin hails from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where Xi's Communist Party is accused of subjecting minorities to severe human rights abuses, torture and forced labor. In August, the United Nations also concluded that forced labor of members of minority groups had taken place in the controversial region of Xinjiang. However, China has always refuted claims.

The tweet by Uyghur Times — a multi-lingual human rights media based in Washington — quoted by Imin on Twitter read, "This area is a densely populated residential area for Uygurs, and it is also the area with the strictest epidemic control."

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