Former Xinjiang Police Officer Reveals Uyghur Detention: Torture and Abuse Commonplace
Former Xinjiang police officer Zhang Yabao, after seeking political asylum in Germany, detailed his 10 years of service in Xinjiang to German media. He stated that many Uyghurs released after serving their sentences were re-detained due to police performance pressure, and torture and abuse were commonplace in 'concentration camps.' International understanding of the situation in Xinjiang is becoming increasingly difficult.
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- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 15:43
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Central News Agency (Taipei, April 27) - Former Chinese police officer Zhang Yabao, after seeking political asylum in Germany, detailed his 10 years of experience serving in Xinjiang to German media. He said that many Uyghurs released after serving their sentences were re-detained due to police performance pressure, and torture and abuse were commonplace in "concentration camps."
Deutsche Welle Chinese reported on April 26 that Zhang Yabao was born and grew up in Henan, and lived in Xinjiang for over 10 years. From November 2014 to September 2023, he mainly served as a police officer in Hotan County and other areas. He frequently traveled between nearly 50 prisons across Xinjiang to escort prisoners or pick up released inmates.
In 2025, he took advantage of a tourist trip to Germany to leave his group and seek asylum. He has been living in Germany for 8 months now, and has successively accepted media interviews, recounting the operations and daily surveillance in Xinjiang prisons.
Although the CCP emphasizes that the "re-education camps," as outsiders call them, are "vocational skills education and training centers" and were closed by the end of 2019, Western media in recent years have continuously exposed their internal conditions, including the detention and attempted transformation of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
Zhang Yabao roughly estimated that about 40% of the adult population in his village had been detained in re-education camps. After the large-scale detentions in re-education camps ended, nearly half of those released back to the village were imprisoned again for various reasons. Among those released after serving their sentences, all were subjected to short-term detention, and nearly 1/10 were sentenced a second time. In every village he experienced, Uyghurs went from prison to detention center and then back to prison.
The report said that these Uyghurs imprisoned might have been targeted merely for performing a prayer, singing a song, wearing a headscarf, watching a video, or even just playing basketball—exercising was also suspected of being a potential "terrorist act"—and then were subjected to intense surveillance, interrogation, and torture, leading to coerced confessions and imprisonment.
Zhang Yabao said that grassroots police officers in Xinjiang were tasked with providing clues to their superiors weekly, and these clues had to be sufficient to lead to more Uyghurs being detained or sentenced to be considered effective.
Those released after serving their sentences who were not immediately sent back to prison also had to undergo short-term detention, and then be subjected to control in their jurisdiction, with specific measures including: daily meetings, weekly talks, monthly evaluations, quarterly assessments, and annual summaries.
He was very familiar with the local villagers. He never considered those moderate Uyghurs to be violent terrorists. "I was never afraid of these 'terrorists'; my fear came from inspections by my superiors." He said that failing to complete tasks would result in severe reprimands from leaders, forfeiture of bonuses, loss of promotion opportunities, and inability to take leave.
From November 2017 to August 2018, Zhang Yabao served as a correctional police officer at the Hotan District Rehabilitation Hospital. This psychiatric hospital was essentially transformed into a "concentration camp," with far more doctors, police officers, and patients than usual.
He said that Xinjiang's "concentration camps" were divided into three levels: high, medium, and low, based on the severity of supervision. The psychiatric hospital where he worked belonged to the lowest level.
On one hand, a large number of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were arbitrarily diagnosed as psychiatric patients and subjected to forced detention and "treatment." On the other hand, many people, to escape more severe torture, "feigned madness" or bribed doctors, voluntarily being detained in the aforementioned "rehabilitation hospital."
When asked by a reporter to verify media reports about "trainees" experiencing beatings, solitary confinement, and rape, Zhang Yabao said that torture and abuse "were commonplace in the concentration camps." He often heard trainees "screaming heartbreakingly during torture." These screams also caused him severe psychological trauma, becoming nightmares he has yet to shake off.
German Xinjiang expert Adrian Zenz had extensive contact with Zhang Yabao and reviewed various internal materials he brought out. In his recent article published in "Foreign Policy," Zenz pointed out that after news reports and human rights investigations exposed large-scale detentions in re-education camps, it has become increasingly difficult for the international community to understand the truth about Xinjiang.
Zenz believes that Beijing has adjusted its strategy for suppressing Uyghurs, evolving from large-scale detention campaigns to comprehensive control infiltrating daily life. Especially after Ma Xingrui succeeded Chen Quanguo as Xinjiang Party Secretary in December 2021, daily surveillance and short-term detentions have been strengthened, and cases of imprisonment after court trials have significantly increased.
According to Der Spiegel, Zhang Yabao gradually questioned the system and his performance was affected by work pressure and internal conflicts. He finally resigned in 2023 citing "family and health factors," and later embraced Christian faith, which prompted him to speak the truth to the outside world.
He wrote in notes he sent to a Deutsche Welle reporter: "He lost his homeland but found his soul." (Editor: Zhang Shuling) 1150427
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Deutsche Welle Chinese reported on April 26 that Zhang Yabao was born and grew up in Henan, and lived in Xinjiang for over 10 years. From November 2014 to September 2023, he mainly served as a police officer in Hotan County and other areas. He frequently traveled between nearly 50 prisons across Xinjiang to escort prisoners or pick up released inmates.
In 2025, he took advantage of a tourist trip to Germany to leave his group and seek asylum. He has been living in Germany for 8 months now, and has successively accepted media interviews, recounting the operations and daily surveillance in Xinjiang prisons.
Although the CCP emphasizes that the "re-education camps," as outsiders call them, are "vocational skills education and training centers" and were closed by the end of 2019, Western media in recent years have continuously exposed their internal conditions, including the detention and attempted transformation of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
Zhang Yabao roughly estimated that about 40% of the adult population in his village had been detained in re-education camps. After the large-scale detentions in re-education camps ended, nearly half of those released back to the village were imprisoned again for various reasons. Among those released after serving their sentences, all were subjected to short-term detention, and nearly 1/10 were sentenced a second time. In every village he experienced, Uyghurs went from prison to detention center and then back to prison.
The report said that these Uyghurs imprisoned might have been targeted merely for performing a prayer, singing a song, wearing a headscarf, watching a video, or even just playing basketball—exercising was also suspected of being a potential "terrorist act"—and then were subjected to intense surveillance, interrogation, and torture, leading to coerced confessions and imprisonment.
Zhang Yabao said that grassroots police officers in Xinjiang were tasked with providing clues to their superiors weekly, and these clues had to be sufficient to lead to more Uyghurs being detained or sentenced to be considered effective.
Those released after serving their sentences who were not immediately sent back to prison also had to undergo short-term detention, and then be subjected to control in their jurisdiction, with specific measures including: daily meetings, weekly talks, monthly evaluations, quarterly assessments, and annual summaries.
He was very familiar with the local villagers. He never considered those moderate Uyghurs to be violent terrorists. "I was never afraid of these 'terrorists'; my fear came from inspections by my superiors." He said that failing to complete tasks would result in severe reprimands from leaders, forfeiture of bonuses, loss of promotion opportunities, and inability to take leave.
From November 2017 to August 2018, Zhang Yabao served as a correctional police officer at the Hotan District Rehabilitation Hospital. This psychiatric hospital was essentially transformed into a "concentration camp," with far more doctors, police officers, and patients than usual.
He said that Xinjiang's "concentration camps" were divided into three levels: high, medium, and low, based on the severity of supervision. The psychiatric hospital where he worked belonged to the lowest level.
On one hand, a large number of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were arbitrarily diagnosed as psychiatric patients and subjected to forced detention and "treatment." On the other hand, many people, to escape more severe torture, "feigned madness" or bribed doctors, voluntarily being detained in the aforementioned "rehabilitation hospital."
When asked by a reporter to verify media reports about "trainees" experiencing beatings, solitary confinement, and rape, Zhang Yabao said that torture and abuse "were commonplace in the concentration camps." He often heard trainees "screaming heartbreakingly during torture." These screams also caused him severe psychological trauma, becoming nightmares he has yet to shake off.
German Xinjiang expert Adrian Zenz had extensive contact with Zhang Yabao and reviewed various internal materials he brought out. In his recent article published in "Foreign Policy," Zenz pointed out that after news reports and human rights investigations exposed large-scale detentions in re-education camps, it has become increasingly difficult for the international community to understand the truth about Xinjiang.
Zenz believes that Beijing has adjusted its strategy for suppressing Uyghurs, evolving from large-scale detention campaigns to comprehensive control infiltrating daily life. Especially after Ma Xingrui succeeded Chen Quanguo as Xinjiang Party Secretary in December 2021, daily surveillance and short-term detentions have been strengthened, and cases of imprisonment after court trials have significantly increased.
According to Der Spiegel, Zhang Yabao gradually questioned the system and his performance was affected by work pressure and internal conflicts. He finally resigned in 2023 citing "family and health factors," and later embraced Christian faith, which prompted him to speak the truth to the outside world.
He wrote in notes he sent to a Deutsche Welle reporter: "He lost his homeland but found his soul." (Editor: Zhang Shuling) 1150427
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you provide is a force protecting press freedom.
Download Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and audio-visual content on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.