SW News: The Biden administration imposed new trade restrictions on five Chinese firms for allegedly aiding in Beijing's repression of the Uyghur Muslim minority group.

According to a posting by the Commerce Department in the Federal Register, the companies have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against the Uyghur people and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.

At least four of the companies facing new curbs are the Chinese manufacturer of surveillance cameras, including Luopu Haishi Dingxin Electronic Technology Co, Moyu Haishi Electronic Technology Co, Pishan Haishi Yong'an Electronic Technology Co, and Urumqi Haishi Xin'an Electronic Technology Co. Hikvision's 2021 half-year report claims that Yutian Haishi Meitian Electronic Technology Co Ltd was also added. Hikvision was added to the US trade blacklist in 2019 due to allegations that it participated in human rights abuses and violations when China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-tech surveillance against Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang was being carried out.

The Nicaraguan National Police was also included on a government export restriction list by the US Commerce Department after the Biden administration claimed the force was involved in major human rights violations in Nicaragua.

In its annual human rights report released last week, the State Department cited reliable reports of arbitrary executions, detentions, and torture in Nicaragua as well as severe and potentially fatal jail conditions. The "Entity List" designation by the Commerce Department prevents businesses from selling American technology without a license.

Jan Simon, Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, a UN panel inquiring into human rights abuses had said, “Based on this investigation, we can conclude that widespread and systematic human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity - and are motivated by political reasons - have been committed against civilians by the Nicaraguan Government since 2018.”

He said, “They have been weaponizing the justice system, weaponizing the legislative function, weaponizing the executive function of the State against the population.”

From testimonies gathered, the expert report identified a pattern of extrajudicial executions carried out by agents of the National Police and members of pro-government armed groups.

It is believed that they acted in a joint and coordinated manner during anti-government protests between April and September 2018.

“These violations continue to be committed today,” Simon said. He noted that the result was that Nicaraguans are living in fear of the Government.