Amnesty International's report on repression of Muslims in Xinjiang was released last week. Kadambari Raghukumar spoke to the Auckland-based sister of one detainee whose case features in the report.

For the past four years, Rizwangul NurMuhammed (Riz) has been seeking justice and answers.

In 2017, Riz's brother, Maiwulana, was arrested on charges of separatism - charges Riz denies - and detained ever since in Xinjiang.

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On Friday last week, Amnesty International released a crucial report highlighting the cases of 50 Uighur detainees, and witness testimonies gathered from 2017 to April this year. The report features Riz's brother as one of those cases.

The report highlights harrowing accounts on China's mass internment, torture and persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang being conducted under a guise of fighting terrorism.

Riz is one of hundreds of thousands of Uighurs whose family members have been arbitrarily arrested and sent to re-education and internment camps by Chinese authorities.

Riz's younger brother, a university graduate, was running a small internet business when he was picked up.

"His youth has been taken away from him. I think my brother's only fault is that he is Uighur."

It's been a long and hard journey for Riz, who only decided to speak out publicly about her brother last year in June for the first time.

"I could have gone to the media earlier but I chose to give the New Zealand government and Chinese Embassy space to respond.

"But I still have no update ... nothing."

In May this year, Parliament unanimously called for action to prevent severe human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims - the motion stopped short of calling those abuses genocide.

Many in the community feel New Zealand's stance on the situation or language used around it hasn't been strong enough.

Unlike America, Canada and Britain, we have stopped short of saying what's happening to the Uighurs is genocide.

All across Xinjiang, the report states that Uighurs have been surveilled, forcibly indoctrinated and detained by Chinese authorities without sufficient evidence pointing toward international recognisable offences. China says it is acting to stop terrorism.

But the report says many Muslims in the region have felt threatened to the extent of giving up their Islamic prayers, Uighur language, and staying in touch with in family overseas…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details