Former Xinjiang detainee arrives in US to testify over China abuses

Ovalbek Turdakun was given special authorization to enter the US after he had been imprisoned in detention camp in China

Ovalbek Turdakun still doesn't know what was in the shot the doctors in the Xinjiang detention centre gave him in 2018. He and his 23 cell mates were told it was a vaccine to prevent colds but Turdakun said that after the injection he and his cellmates felt pain in their ears, hands and feet; yellow fluid came out of their ears; some had trouble walking. When he was released after 10 months' detention, Turdakun still struggled to walk.

Turdakun is among the nearly 2 million people who are estimated to have been imprisoned in China's mass detention camps in the Xinjiang region. On Tuesday, Turdakun, his wife, Zhyldyz Uraalieva, and son Daniyel Ovalbek arrived in the US on a special immigration authorization called significant public benefit parole which grants entry to people who would provide significant public benefit" such as testifying in a criminal or legal proceeding.