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50-569: Akto is the westernmost county of China; its westernmost point is north of the Markansu River ( 玛尔坎苏河 ), on the border with Tajikistan . The county is located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, east of the Pamir Plateau , and is near the western edge of the Tarim Basin . It is between 73°26'5" and 76°43'31" east longitude, and between 37°41'28" and 39°29'55" north latitude. It

100-567: A huge body of the Kongur Tiube glacier (7,530 metres) collapsing causing a 20 km long and one kilometre wide ice rock avalanche. Akto County is located in the central hinterland of Asia , the westernmost part of China , the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region , the eastern Pamir Plateau , and the western edge of the Tarim Basin . It is located between east longitudes 73°26'5" and 76°43'31", and between north latitude 37°41'28" and 39°29'55". Its maximum length from north to south

150-404: A multitude of different transgressions, rather than a single well-defined crime. Political prisoners are frequently arrested and tried with a veneer of legality where false criminal charges , manufactured evidence , and unfair trials ( kangaroo courts , show trials ) are used to disguise the fact that an individual is a political prisoner. For example, AAPP states that "the motivation behind

200-657: A political offense". He proposed the following definition: Political prisoners are defined as individuals that are convicted and incarcerated in politically biased trials (or executive decisions in the absence of any trials). Trials are deemed politically biased if they are endorsed by the government and (a) lack a domestic legal basis, (b) violate principles of procedural justice, or (c) violate universal human rights. Steinert noted that his definition does extend to prisoners "imprisoned for nonpolitical identities such as their religious beliefs or their sexual orientations", as well as individuals engaged in violent actions, arguing that

250-418: A political prisoner is generally awarded to individuals based on the declarations of non-governmental organizations like Amnesty International , on a case-by-case basis. While such statuses are often widely recognized by the international public , they are often rejected by individual governments accused of holding political prisoners, which tend to deny any bias in their judicial systems . A related term

300-429: A rule, governments deny imprisoning individuals for their political activities. A political prisoner can also be someone who has been denied bail unfairly, denied parole when it would reasonably have been given to a prisoner charged with a comparable crime, or special powers may be invoked by the judiciary. Particularly in this latter situation, whether an individual is regarded as a political prisoner may depend upon

350-524: A specific response to such movements (a response which often involved incarceration rather than dialogue, particularly under the less liberal regimes). In some places, political prisoners had their own customs, traditions, and semi-formal organizations and privileges; historically, this has been more common up to around the interwar period , as the many political prisoners came from higher social classes (in particular, nobility ), and authorities often treated them better than common criminals. This changed with

400-559: Is prisoner of conscience (POC), popularized by Amnesty International. It describes someone who was prosecuted because of their personal beliefs. Some prisons, known as political prisons, are accustomed to or are designed solely for hosting political prisoners. The concept of a political prisoner, like many concepts in social sciences, sports numerous definitions, and is undefined in international law and human right treaties. Helen Taylor Greene and Shaun L. Gabbidon in 2009 that "standard legal definitions have remained elusive", but at

450-600: Is 283.2 kilometers long from the middle section of Maltabar Mountain ( 玛里他巴尔山 ) in the northwest to The Kokluk Farm ( 科克鲁克农场 ) in Kuslap Township ( 库斯拉甫乡 ) in the southeast; its maximum length from west to east is 216 kilometers long from Subash Village ( 苏巴什村 ) in Bulungkol Township ( 布伦口乡 ) in the southwest to the Jamaterak Township ( 加马铁热克乡 ) in the northeast. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in

500-517: Is at the boundary with Wuqia County , at an elevation of 5,753.7 meters. The Sarikol Range ( 萨雷阔勒岭 ) in the southwest is more than 4,500 meters above sea level; the highest peak of Kongur Tagh ( 公格尔山 ) in the central part is 7,719 meters above sea level, Kongur Tiube ( 公格尔九别峰 ) is 7,530 meters, and Muztagh Ata ( 慕士塔格峰 ) is 7,541 meters. There are 66 snow-capped peaks in the territory, including 36 large ice peaks. The mountaintops have snow year round, and there are glaciers of different sizes around

550-460: Is bordered by Wuqia County and Shufu County to the north, by Shule County and 41st Regiment of the XPCC across Yopurga River ( 岳普湖河 ) to the northeast, by Yengisar County (Yingjisha), Yarkant County (Shache) to the east, and by Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County (Tashkurgan) to the south. The west and south-west share a border with Kyrgyzstan and a border with Tajikistan ; the total border line

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600-433: Is conveyed to one only after their detention. Before that, potential political prisoners may be referred to as " dissidents , revolutionaries , social reformers , or radical thinkers". The nature of the behavior that leads to political imprisonment is hard to define and can be roughly described as any "activity deemed questionable by ruling elites ". Therefore, political prisoners may be officially detained and sentenced for

650-628: Is detained for exercising their "human rights under international law, such as peaceable assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of association, free expression, including the freedom to advocate peaceable social or political change, and to criticize government policy or government officials.” Christoph Valentin Steinert, who in 2020 reviewed 366 definitions of political prisoners used in (mainly English language) academic literature in 1956 and 2019, argued that any definition of political prisoner needs to avoid focusing on prisoners' individual motivations and that

700-721: Is more than 380 kilometers long. Akto means 'white mountain' in the Kyrgyz language , referring to snowy mountains. In the early years of the Western Han dynasty, the land of the present Akto County was under the jurisdiction of three Kingdoms of Shule , Puli ( 蒲犁国 ) and Yilai ( 依耐国 ). In 60 BC, the Han dynasty set up the Protectorate of the Western Regions in Wulei Fortress ( 乌垒城 ; near

750-401: Is not just to punish those opposing the regime, but to frighten those who consider opposing the regime by demonstrating the power of the regime by sending a clear warning that objecting is not tolerated, and that the regime is well prepared and ready to punish the objectors through the creation of total institutions dedicated to hosting political prisoners. The status of a political prisoner

800-604: Is someone imprisoned for their political activity . The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although numerous similar definitions have been proposed by various organizations and scholars, and there is a general consensus among scholars that "individuals have been sanctioned by legal systems and imprisoned by political regimes not for their violation of codified laws but for their thoughts and ideas that have fundamentally challenged existing power relations". The status of

850-611: Is the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains, which is the main mountain of the Kunlun. In addition to the Jogori Peak , the other three famous peaks of Muztagh Ata, Kongur Tagh and Kongur Tiube are almost all in Akto. Kunlun is famous for its jade production. It is located in the mountains of Akto in the upper reaches of the Yarkand River . There are many jade mines . These jade stones, exposed in

900-407: Is to be regarded as a 'political prisoner': Burmese Assistance Association for Political Prisoners defines a political prisoner as "anyone who is arrested because of [their] perceived or real involvement in or supporting role in opposition movements with peaceful or resistance means". The US Congressional-Executive Commission on China defines a political prisoner broadly as any individual who

950-538: The Baren Township riot occurred in Barin Township . In June 1996, Aisha Awazi, Uyghur imam of a mosque in the county, was arrested in connection with reportedly appointing himself imam in 1992, being strongly critical of communists as pagans and organizing 120 like-minded persons; he is listed as a political prisoner . The 2007 Xinjiang raid occurred in the county. In 2015, Chinese state media reported about

1000-539: The Kashgar-Hotan Railway . List of extreme points of China This is a list of the extreme points of China , compared both globally and within the country. The following are all located partially or completely in the Tibet Autonomous Region . The following are all located partially or completely in the Tibet Autonomous Region . Political prisoner A political prisoner

1050-692: The Kunlun Mountains , the Tian Shan Mountains and the Hindu Kush Mountains are all gathered here. The Kongur–Muztagh Mountains ( 公格尔-慕士塔格山 ), the main range of the Pamirs, are mainly in Akto County. The range extends southward to Tashkurgan County , and to the northeast into Yengisar and Kargilik counties. Muztagh is the boundary mountain between Akto County and Tashkurgan County; the top of

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1100-524: The Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas in 1759, the land was ruled by Kashgar and Yarkand officials ( 喀什噶尔和叶尔羌参赞大臣 ). Appointed the seat of officials of circuits, prefectures and counties in southern Xinjiang in 1883, Akto was under the jurisdiction of Yengisar Independent Subprefecture ( 英吉沙尔直隶厅 ), Shule Independent Department ( 疏勒直隶州 ) and Puli Subprefecture of Shache Prefecture ( 莎车府蒲犁分防厅 ). Akto County

1150-696: The East Kara-Khanid Khanate reconciled to West Liao. In 1226, the Southern Tianshan was in the territory of Chagatai Khanate , with Akto under its control. With the establishment of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate in 1347, Akto was one of the dominions of the khanate supervisor Hudaida ( 忽歹达 ). Akto was part of Yarkent Khanate in 1514. In 1678, the Dzungar began to rule. After the Qing dynasty calmed

1200-514: The Vietnam War . Political prisoners sometimes write memoirs of their experiences and resulting insights. Some of these memoirs have become important political texts. For example, King's " Letter From a Birmingham City Jail " has been described as "one of the most important historical documents penned by a modern political prisoner". A number of nongovernmental organizations focus on advocacy for political prisoners. The most prominent of those

1250-464: The Yuepuhu River, mainly including Akto Town, Yumai, Barin, Pilal, Jamaterak and other agricultural areas. The area is flat, at an altitude of about 1,200 to 1,500 meters, with abundant water and fertile land. The county has 12 township-level administrative divisions under its jurisdiction, with five state-owned farms. Akto County has a large Uyghur majority, numbering 172,408 in 2018, or 73.64% of

1300-524: The arrest of every individual in AAPP's database is political, regardless of the laws they have been sentenced under". This is common in situations which may otherwise be decried nationally and internationally as a human rights violation or suppression of a political dissident . Steinert notes that "objective evidence about politically biased imprisonments is chronically sparse considering that governments face substantial incentives to hide repressive practices". As

1350-417: The category of prisoners of conscience , the only prisoners who AI demands should be immediately and unconditionally released, as well as people who resort to criminal violence for a political motive. In AI's use of the term, here are some examples of political prisoners: Governments often say they have no political prisoners, only prisoners held under the normal criminal law. AI however describes cases like

1400-689: The county are mainly divided into two parts: one is the front flood fan of the Pamir Mountains, and the other is the Gez-Kushan River Delta ( 盖孜-库山河三角洲 ). These two plains, in terms of large landform types, belong to the Kashgar Delta ( 喀什噶尔三角洲 ) and form an oasis on the southwest edge of the Tarim Basin. The Gez-Kushan River Delta, located in the southern part of the Kashgar Plain ( 喀什噶尔平原 ),

1450-562: The county's population. The largest minority in Akto County are the Kyrgyz (including the Akto Turkmens ), who number 47,394 in 2018, comprising 20.24% of the county's population. Other sizable minorities in the county include the Han Chinese and Mountain Tajiks , with populations of 7,864 and 6,018, respectively, comprising 3.36% and 2.57% of the county's population in 2018. Akto is served by

1500-409: The differences as follows: AI uses the term "political prisoner" broadly. It does not use it, as some others do, to imply that all such prisoners have a special status or should be released. It uses the term only to define a category of prisoners for whom AI demands a fair and prompt trial. In AI's usage, the term includes any prisoner whose case contains a significant political element, in regard to

1550-404: The earliest known political prisoner; imprisoned for allegedly “poisoning” the minds of Grecian youth through his critique of Athenian society and its rulers. Early Christians, including Jesus Christ , and St. Peter , have also been described as such. Another famous historical figure described as a political prisoner is the 15th century French heroine, Joan of Arc , whose final charge of heresy

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1600-630: The emergence of the totalitarian regimes that were intent on annihilating the opposition. In Poland, the concept and even traditions of political prisoners emerged around the second half of the 19th century in the Russian partition . While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 is not legally binding, it is generally recognized as "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations". Of particular relevance to political prisoners are its Articles 5, 6, 9 and 18. The UDHR and

1650-514: The examples given above as "political" and uses the terms "political trial" and "political imprisonment" when referring to them. But by doing so, AI does not oppose the imprisonment, except where it further maintains that the prisoner is a prisoner of conscience, or condemn the trial, except where it concludes that it was unfair. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has the following definition: A person deprived of their personal liberty

1700-508: The former Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi , detained for many years without a trial. Likewise, supporters of Tibetan spiritual leader Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in the 11th Panchen Lama controversy have called him a "political prisoner", despite the fact that he is not accused of a political offense. He is held under secluded house arrest . Political prisoners may become the subjects of international advocacy and receive aid from various non-governmental organizations. Criticism from

1750-537: The international public opinion has been shown to facilitate the release of political detainees, or reduce their sentences, but is less effective in securing the release of already-sentenced individuals. When the status of political prisoner is well known, it can be seen as a form of status symbol . Some political prisoners purposefully frame themselves as "the imprisoned martyrs and leaders of their movement." Which can safeguard their well-being in prison. Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates has been described as perhaps

1800-592: The later Helsinki Accords of 1975 have been used by a number of nongovernmental organizations as the basis for arguing that some governments are in fact holding political prisoners. In the United States , the term political prisoner has been used during the mid-20th century civil rights struggle and has been occasionally applied to individuals like Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King Jr. , and later used for individuals imprisoned for objecting to US involvement in

1850-483: The motivation of the prisoner's acts, the acts themselves, or the motivation of the authorities. "Political" is used by AI to refer to aspects of human relations related to "politics": the mechanisms of society and civil order, the principles, organization, or conduct of government or public affairs, and the relation of all these to questions of language, ethnic origin, sex or religion, status, or influence (among other factors). The category of political prisoners embraces

1900-526: The mountain is accumulating ice and snow, and the thickness of snow is more than 100 meters. There are more than 40 modern glaciers distributed below the snow line, with ice sheets about 100 meters deep. Glacial meltwater is the main source of agricultural irrigation in the county, and it is also the main source of supply for the Gez River ( 盖孜河 ) and the Kushan River ( 库山河 ). The southern part of Akto County

1950-457: The neutral "classification as a political prisoner neither entails an a priori judgment about the moral legitimacy of prisoners' actions nor does it imply that individuals committed politically motivated crimes". The purpose of political prisons and of imprisoning dissidents is to demonstrate the strength of the regime to the dissidents. The regime's opponents are isolated, and stigmatised, frequently abused, and tortured. The goal of such treatment

2000-599: The northern part of the northern slope of the Pamir-West Kunlun Mountain Range, the triangle between the Gez and the Kushan rivers, covers an area of about 800 square kilometers, and has a distribution population of more than 100,000, accounting for about 68% of the total population of the county. It is composed of the flood of the Gez river and the Kushan River - alluvial fan and Gez River - the dympastain plain saticity of

2050-614: The peaks. Large parts of the county are subject to severe drought and erosion due to the bare mountains and sparse vegetation. Bare mountains in the area are formed from different types of rock, and may therefore be gray, black, yellow, red or white. The midwestern part of the county is on the Pamir Plateau. Several giant mountains on the Asian continent - the Himalayas , the Karakoram Range ,

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2100-610: The present Yungou 云沟, Dongye Town 东野镇 in Luntai County ), and Akto was under its jurisdiction. During the Three Kingdoms period, Akto was still under the jurisdiction of the Wei State . During the Jin dynasty , Akto County was part of Shule Kingdom of Jin. In 658, with the establishment of Kara-Khanid Khanate , most of Akto was under its jurisdiction. In 1134, Akto was part of West Liao with

2150-413: The release of prisoners of conscience, which include both political prisoners as well as those imprisoned for their religious or philosophical beliefs. To reduce controversy, and as a matter of principle, the organization's policy applies only to prisoners who have not committed or advocated violence. Thus, there are political prisoners who do not fit the narrower criteria for POCs. The organisation defines

2200-515: The rock formations by the river, are washed into the riverbed in the lower reaches, and stepping on jade in the Yarkand River has become a production activity and industry that the local people have been engaged in for thousands of years. The northeastern part of the county is an oasis, located on the southwestern edge of the Tarim Basin and part of the Tarim Oasis. The plain agricultural areas in

2250-503: The same time, observing that there is a general consensus that "individuals have been sanctioned by legal systems and imprisoned by political regimes not for their violation of codified laws but for their thoughts and ideas that have fundamentally challenged existing power relations". A number of organizations involved in human rights issues, as well as scholars studying them, have developed their own definitions, some of which are presented below. Amnesty International (AI) campaigns for

2300-399: The southeast, with a total area of 24,555 square kilometers. Akto County includes parts of three major geographic regions: the Pamirs, the northern slopes of the Kunlun Mountains , and the oasis on the western edge of the Tarim Basin. Mountainous areas (generally at an altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 meters) make up 96.39% of the county's total area. The Kungay Mountain ( 昆盖山 ) in the northwest

2350-666: The subjective political perspective or interpretation of the evidence. Political prisoners can also be imprisoned with no legal veneer by extrajudicial processes or even through executive decisions in the absence of any trials or charges . Some political prisoners need not be imprisoned at all, as they can be subject to prolonged pre-trial detainment instead. Steinert noted that technically, political detainees should be distinguished from political prisoners, but they are often grouped together, and in practical terms, he recommends treating them as special types of political prisoners. Examples of such detainees can include individuals such as

2400-529: The term "should be exclusively reserved for victims of politically biased trials" (in other words, "victims of state repression "), to avoid delegitimizing the term by diluting it with applications to prisoners of any possibly politically motivated action (which on the extreme end of the spectrum would include, for example, Ku Klux Klanners , neo-Nazis , and jihadist terrorists ). He specifically criticizes definitions of political prisoners as "individuals imprisoned for politically motivated actions" or "committing

2450-1202: Was established in August 1954 from parts of Yengisar , Shufu , Taxkorgan (present Tashkurgan, Puli) and Wuqia counties. The present Yumai Township ( 玉麦乡 ) was from the 6th district in Yengisar, Piral Township ( 皮拉勒乡 ) and Barin Township from the 7th district in Yengisar (Yingjisha), Kizilto Township ( 克孜勒陶乡 ) from the 8th district in Yengisar, Qiarlon Township ( 恰尔隆乡 ) from 4th district of Qiarlon ( 恰尔隆第四区 ) in Puli County, Blunko Township ( 布伦口乡 ) from 5th district of Blunko ( 布伦口五区 ) in Puli and two townships of Bostanterak District ( 波斯坦铁热克区 ) in Wuqia County, Auytak Town ( 奥依塔克镇 ) from Auytak Township ( 奥依塔克乡 ) in Shufu County, Karekayqik Township ( 喀热开其克乡 ) from Qlukbash Township in Shufu. In April 1990,

2500-411: Was seen as a legal justification for her real crime of "inconveniencing the elites". Padraic Kenney noted that "the emergence of modern political prisoners coincides with a fifty-year period (1860s–1910s) during which [modern] political movements matured around the world", also defining such movements as having "clearly articulated political and social programs" which forced the governments to develop

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