Washington DC, April 14 -- The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile has strongly criticised Kazakhstan over the conviction of 19 of its citizens, calling the move a suppression of dissent and an act of compliance with Beijing, as stated in a press release issued by the organisation.

According to the ETGE press release, the individuals were convicted for protesting and demanding the release of a Kazakh detainee in what it referred to as "Occupied East Turkistan," the homeland of Uyghurs and other Turkic communities. The group alleged that Kazakhstan charged its own citizens under "inciting ethnic hatred" laws after they burned a Chinese flag and an image of Xi Jinping, whom the organisation accused of being responsible for actions against U...