Women in China's system of detention camps for ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims in its western region of Xinjiang were subject to rape, sexual abuse and torture, according to a BBC report published Wednesday.
The British broadcaster said on its website that "several former detainees and a guard have told the BBC they experienced or saw evidence of an organized system of mass rape, sexual abuse and torture." The allegations could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Beijing strongly denies accusations of abuse in Xinjiang, and has said the complexes it set up in the region provided vocational training to help stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism, and to teach new skills. Those in the facilities had since "graduated," it says.