Beijing, July 30: China claimed that Uighur Muslims held in internment camps in the Xinjiang region have been released and most of them provided with work. However, experts and Human Rights activists have refuted Beijing's claims and called them baseless, reported The New York Times. China Locks Up Muslims in Xinjiang, It Opens Its Doors to Tourists.

In a press conference held in Beijing, Xinjiang’s top leaders implied that most of the inmates held in Xinjiang region had “returned to society” and are now working. The declaration by the officials comes after United Nations human rights committee and activists pointed out the condition of the Uighur minority.

A number of Western countries, including the likes of USA, Britain, Germany, France along with 18 European nations asked United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to keep an eye on the camps.

They were later joined by Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. However, no major Muslim countries have written against Xinjiang's camps for Uighur minority. Saudi Arabia on Thursday also signed a letter along with 36 other countries supporting China's policies.

China calls the camps as "re-education" centers, and began expanding the camps in 2017. Estimates say that about or over a million Uighurs apart from other minority Muslims have been held captive in the camps in the name of "re-education" and "de-radicalising" the minorities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2019 08:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).