Istanbul: Uyghur activists protested near the Chinese Consulate in the Sariyer district of Istanbul and raised concerns over human rights violations in the Xinjiang region in China.

Around 120-130 persons, most of whom were women and children gathered near the Chinese Consulate at around 10:30 am on Friday and recited Quranic verses were recited and also played National anthems of East Turkestan and Turkey.

Notably, the protests were held ahead of Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10 according to the United Nations.

During the protests, Abdul Selam Abdullah, a representative of Uyghur NGO East Turkestan Human Rights (ETHR) appealed to the International community to save the Uyghur community from extinction and accused the Chinese authorities of killing Uyghurs under the pretext of Covid-19 control measures.

Women activists Rusen Mahmud and Magfiret Ubul raised the issues of forced marriages and sterilization taking place under the Chinese regime and appealed for united action by humanitarian organizations and countries against the atrocities in East Turkestan.

Earlier, on the evening of December 8, the representatives of the Refah (Welfare) Party and NGO Dogu Turkistanlilar Federasyonu (DTF) protested near the Chinese Consulate at around 8.30 pm (local time).

DTF leader Mahmud Damollah urged the Turkey government to take action to stop the Uyghur genocide and not just make statements on the matter.

Protests regarding the Uyghur issue have intensified in Turkey following the death of several Uyghurs in a residential apartment fire in Urumqi on November 24 last month. Since then, about eight protest demonstrations have happened in Turkey against China.