over 533,000 people were imprisoned in Xinjiang between 2017-2020
Based on my interviews and media reports, some detainees have also been transferred to prisons. According to the Xinjiang state prosecutor’s office, between 2017 and 2020, over 533,000 people were formally prosecuted in Xinjiang,^[Xinjiang People’s Procuratorate Annual Work Reports 2018–2021; Supreme People’s Procuratorate Annual Work Reports 2018–2021] a rate six times higher than the national average for that period. Since the conviction rates in Chinese courts are higher than 99 percent,^[Donald Clarke, “China’s low acquittal rates: interesting statistics,” The China Collection , May 5, 2020, https://thechinacollection.org/chinas-low-acquittal-rates-interesting-statistics/] it is safe to assume that nearly all criminal prosecutions resulted in formal sentences.