Chinese authorities detained a 70-year-old Uyghur man after he couldn’t pay more than US$20,000 in fines for his two imprisoned sons, sources in Xinjiang told Radio Free Asia, indicating a new form of punishment targeting the predominantly Muslim group in northwestern China.
Mamtimin Yasin, a 70-year-old baker, was informed by a court in Xinjiang’s Hotan that he had to pay a fine of 150,000 yuan (US$20,700) as part of the punishment for his sons, who were sentenced in 2017 to 15 years in prison each for “religious extremism,” according to a person familiar with the situation.
Unable to pay the fine, Yasin was arrested by court officials on April 29.
Officials have been telling families of prisoners that their loved ones’ sentences might be reduced if the fines are paid, stating that these amounts were initially included in the court verdicts.
However, Yasin’s case is one of the first instances where an individual unable to pay the fine has been arrested.
“The primary condition for sentence reduction under the current policy is paying the imposed fine,” a Hotan county court officer told Radio Free Asia. “If they don’t pay the fine, they don’t meet the condition.”
Chinese criminal law mandates that verdicts must be served to the defendant, the defendant’s lawyer, and family members. However, many families of detainees are unaware of the fines because court officers only inform them verbally of the jail terms.
