Fact check: Alleged Xinjiang 'detention centers' anything but

Rumor: Using satellite images, a report titled "Documenting Xinjiang's Detention System" by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute claims to have identified many detention centers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Fact:

Buildings with outer walls, which were all identified as detention centers by the ASPI report, are in fact civil institutions.

Using satellite images to prove the existence of detention centers in Xinjiang is "absurd" and "misleading", said Ilijan Anayt, a regional government spokesman, at a news conference.

The "detention center" in the city of Turpan mentioned in the report is a local administrative building, and the "detention centers" in Kashgar prefecture are care homes, logistics parks and schools, he said. Ilijan also presented photos of the buildings that were alleged to be detention centers or forced labor sites.

Xinjiang is open so there is no need to learn about it through satellite images, Ilijan added.