China rejects Turkey criticism on Uighur re-education camps

China condemned Turkey over its claim that a celebrated musician from China’s Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group has died in custody.

Chinese Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that a brief video clip of Abdurehim Heyit issued by state media shows he is still alive.

She told a daily briefing that the Turkish side had “made a very bad mistake which is quite irresponsible,” the AP reported.

Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a statement Saturday calling China’s treatment of Uighurs “a great cause of shame for humanity,” in a rare show of public criticism by a majority Muslim nation. China has interned an estimated 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in re-education camps.

Heyit had reportedly been sentenced to eight years over one of his songs.