A prominent Muslim campaigner for the rights of China’s Uighur minority says that Chinese authorities detained three of her children, BBC reported.
Muslim activist Rebiya Kadeer, released from prison last year and sent to the United States, said two sons and a daughter were arrested on Monday.
She said Chinese authorities detained her children to stop them from speaking to a U.S. Congressional delegation visiting the poor northwestern province of Xinjiang, where most of China's Muslim Uighur minority lives.
"I demand the immediate release of my three children," Kadeer said.
Kadeer was a successful businesswoman before she was sent to jail in 2000 for “leaking state secrets.” She was freed after U.S. authorities intervened for her release.
Since her release, Kadeer has campaigned for the rights of the eight million Uighurs living in China.
Although she doesn’t openly campaign for an independent Uighur state, China has allegedly accused her of "conspiring with separatists", a charge she strongly denies.