‘This isn’t true’: Uighur families angered by China claim relatives freed

China's claim it has freed 90% of people in Xinjiang detention camps has been met with anger and scepticism

When news broke that senior officials in China were saying 90% of Uighurs detained in Xinjiang's notorious detention centres had been released, Nurgul Sawut's phone started going crazy.

"My Whatsapp, my Signal, my Facebook, everyone was tagging me in their posts," said Sawut, a Uighur community leader based in Canberra. "Everyone started reacting. They were saying: 'If 90%, where are my relatives, where are my family and friends?' We're not seeing any of those people in the community, who are you releasing?"