China on Friday rejected the ruling of London-based Uyghur Tribunal as "completely void" of any legal basis and added that final ruling by the panel is nothing but a political farce staged by a handful of "contemptible individuals."
This reaction comes after a London-based independent tribunal on Thursday ruled that China committed 'genocide' against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the anti-China, separatist organization has rallied a handful of anti-China elements to set up the so-called Uyghur Tribunal, Xinhua news agency reported.
"They hired liars to make false statements and falsify evidence, in an attempt to craft a political tool to disrupt Xinjiang and smear China," said the Chinese spokesperson, adding that the tribunal is "completely void of any legal basis and has no credibility at all."
"The malicious intentions of its previous anti-China activities have been laid bare by facts and deplored by perceptive people in the international community. The so-called final ruling by such a machine churning out lies is nothing but a political farce staged by a handful of contemptible individuals," said the spokesperson.
The Uyghur Tribunal declared the verdict on Thursday after a panel of Britain-based lawyers and rights experts examined human rights violations in the Xinjiang region.
Hearings were held in June, September, and November this year, during which the Tribunal's expert panel reviewed hundreds of witness statements and heard live evidence from more than 30 witnesses about their experiences of China's oppressive policies, as well as from expert witnesses.
"The tribunal is satisfied that the PRC (People's Republic of China) has affected a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy with the object of so-called 'optimizing' the population in Xinjiang by the means of a long-term reduction of Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations to be achieved through limiting and reducing Uyghur births," Geoffrey Nice, who chaired the tribunal, said on Thursday.
He added that the tribunal was "satisfied" that very senior officials in the PRC and CCP (Chinese Communist Party) bear primary responsibility for acts in Xinjiang."
( With inputs from ANI )
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