A Chinese man who left his country after filming at sites of alleged human rights violations against Uyghurs now faces the risk of removal from the United States, according to his lawyer and mother.
Guan Heng, 38, underwent an immigration hearing in New York on Monday after being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August, his mother said in an interview.
The case could see him taken out of the United States and potentially landing back in China eventually.
“I’m really, really worried that things will be very bad for him if he is made to return,” Guan’s mother, Luo Yun, told AFP in Chinese.
“If he has a chance to remain in the United States, he’ll at least be safe,” she said. “I’m incredibly anxious and upset.”
On Monday, the session ended with a next hearing date set for January, said Guan’s lawyer Chen Chuangchuang.
A judge is expected to consider if Guan should instead be sent to Uganda for his asylum application, as it has agreed to accept people deported from the United States.
But Chen vowed to challenge this attempt, arguing that there is a significant chance Guan could be sent back to China from there.
A statement by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission warned on Friday on Twitter/X that Guan “would likely be persecuted” if he returned to China.
“He should be given every opportunity to stay in a place of refuge,” the statement added.
In late 2021, Guan had published a 20-minute video online, detailing his travel around the north-western Xinjiang region in China.
He was visiting places identified by a BuzzFeed investigation as detention facilities for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities – or likely sites for such centers.
Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, part of a campaign that the United Nations previously said could constitute “crimes against humanity”.
China vehemently denies these allegations, saying its policies have rooted out extremism in Xinjiang and boosted economic development.
Guan left China after filming the videos, eventually entering the United States following travels through South America.
Around that time, he told his mother he did not plan to return to China.
“As for the contents of the clips that he later posted – I didn’t know about them,” his mother said.
The pair stayed in touch, and she recalls receiving a text in August from a friend of Guan’s, informing her that he had been detained during an operation by ICE.
When she managed to contact him, Luo said, “his emotional state was one of extreme panic and breakdown.”
She added that her family members in mainland China have also been questioned by authorities about their ties to Guan, shortly after he published his video.
“I’m heartbroken,” she said. “I’m not only crying for my child, but the situation that our family is facing.”
Guan’s supporters say he is being held in a Broome County facility in upstate New York. His name appears on an online page of ICE detainees.
“I just want my child to be well. He’s still young, and has a long life ahead,” said Guan’s mother.
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