Egyptian police arrests dozens of Chinese students on China’s request

Scores of Chinese students of Uighur ethnic minority have been arrested in the streets of Cairo, Egypt on Beijing’s request according to rights group.

The police operation has forced scores of Uighurs to flee Cairo and Alexandria after the sweep which began on Tuesday when police raided two restaurants frequented by Uighur students in Cairo and detained at least 37 people, Abduweli Ayup, a Uighur activist in Turkey, told Al Jazeera on Friday.

The detentions come amid reports that authorities in the Uighur homeland of Xinjiang in western China are seeking the immediate return of Uighurs studying abroad.

Read also: 20 sentenced to death by Egyptian court for killing policeman

“Students, especially those who study religion, are being targeted,” Ayup said. “The police are searching apartment by apartment … In Cairo, people are in hiding. They are terrified. They are afraid to go out.”

Ayup added that dozens have been arrested including 20 from Cairo’s Al-Azhar University who were stopped in the city of Alexandria on their way out of the country late on Wednesday.

“They were told they would be deported to China,” Ayup said.

 

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