In a strongly worded statement Saturday, Hami Aksoy, Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that hundreds of thousands of prisoners were subjected to "torture and political brainwashing" in Chinese camps.

"We appeal to the international community and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take effective measures to put an end to this human tragedy in Xinjiang," the statement said. He claimed that thousands of children were separated from their parents by the Chinese government.

But Chinese state media have strongly refuted some of Turkey's claims, say they "violated the facts", including accusations that Uyghur folk singer Abdurehim Heyit had died in prison.

The human rights crisis in Xinjiang has received increasingly severe criticism from all over the world. During a UN hearing in November, more than 12 countries called on Beijing to put an end to the "arbitrary detention" of Uyghurs.

Beijing has repeatedly denied that Uyghur is imprisoned against their will, calls the camps "vocational training centers" and suggests that they provide education.

Xinjiang Governor Shohrat Zakir, himself an Uyghur, told the state-run Xinhua news agency in October that since the crackdown "Xinjiang is not only beautiful, but also safe and stable."

But Aksoy claimed that the Chinese government was carrying out a deliberate campaign to promote the ethnic, religious and cultural identity of the Uyghur Turks and other Muslim communities in the region & # 39; exterminate.

"The re-introduction of internment camps in the 21st century and the policy of systematic assimilation against the Uyghur Turks carried out by the authorities of China is a great shame for humanity," the statement said.

& # 39; In good health & # 39;

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it had learned that singer Abdurehim Heyit, who had been imprisoned for one of his songs for eight years, had died during his imprisonment in China.

"This tragedy has further strengthened Turkish public opinion on serious human rights violations in the Xinjiang region, and we expect this legitimate response to be taken into account by the Chinese authorities," the statement said.

But the state-run Chinese Radio International (CRI) has released a video on its Turkish website that Abdurehim Heyet seems to be showing alive.

"Today is February 10, 2019, I am under investigation to allegedly violate national laws, I am now in good health and have never been abused," the musician said in the video.

Uyghur crackdown in Xinjiang doubles security spending in one year

CRI said on social media that the video was proof that Heyit & # 39; was in good health & # 39; and that the allegations of Turkey & # 39; unfounded & # 39; goods.

A statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said their camps were open to the world. "We have invited ambassadors from more than 12 countries in China and foreign correspondents, including Turkish, to visit Xinjiang," the statement said.

The ministry called on Turkey for its "unfounded accusations" & # 39; to withdraw, claiming that both countries had to deal with "serious anti-terror situations" & # 39;

Large countries with a Muslim majority increasingly register their disapproval of the actions of Beijing in Xinjiang. In December, the Indonesian government told reporters that it had called on China's ambassador to explain the actions against the Uyghurs.

There have been major demonstrations in the past year in both Turkey and Indonesia against Beijing.

It comes as human rights activists and former inmates describe death and torture in the Xinjiang camps in Beijing.

Former prisoner Mihrigul Tursun told CNN in January that she saw nine fellow prisoners die during her stay in the detention centers, in cells that were so full that there was not enough room for everyone to sit down.