Uyghur group withdraws from foreign interference inquiry, says victims won't be protected

A human rights group advocating for China's Uyghur minority in Canada is pulling out of the foreign election interference inquiry, claiming the process could put victims at risk.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) said the continued participation of three men accused of being linked to the Chinese government "pose[s] a significant security risk" to diaspora communities.

The issue, which has been playing out for the past few weeks, centres on Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue's decision to grant standing to former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Michael Chan and Independent MP Han Dong. Standing means they can question witnesses and have advance access to evidence.

The human rights group also has expressed concerns about the fact that Independent Senator Yuen Pau Woo, who has been accused of taking pro-Beijing stances on various issues, has intervener status.

"URAP refuses to participate in a process meant to address and reconcile foreign interference that uplifts individuals complicit in and benefiting from foreign interference themselves," said the statement.

"The commission's protection of questionable national actors and its simultaneous failure to safeguard victims of transnational repression reveals systemic dysfunctionality in its process."

Dong, Chan and Woo have denied working for China.

URAP's executive director, Mehmet Tohti, said he already faces intimidation and harassment from Chinese officials over his advocacy.

WATCH | Human rights groups refuse to be cross-examined by politicians with alleged ties to Beijing

In an interview Wednesday, Tohti said he still wants the inquiry to succeed but he's not optimistic.

"We don't have too much trust  in the process," he said.

CBC News has reached out to the commission for comment.

Tohti's agency is part of a larger coalition of human rights groups that has full standing at the inquiry. 

Hogue is investigating whether Beijing, Russia, India and other nations interfered in the past two elections, and how information about foreign interference flowed within the federal government. The inquiry was announced in the aftermath of media reports accusing Beijing of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.