US targets Chinese, North Korean firms with sanctions

The United States placed a Chinese software firm and a North Korean animation studio on its blacklist Friday as it slapped sanctions on officials and entities in eight countries for human rights abuse.

The US Treasury said China's artificial intelligence company SenseTime, and two ethnic Uyghur political leaders in China's Xinjiang region Shohrat Zakir and Erken Tuniyaz, took part in the sweeping oppression of Uyghurs.

The Treasury said SenseTime's facial recognition programs were designed in part to be used in Xinjiang against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities, more than one million of who have been incarcerated in prison camps in the region.

"The mass detention of Uyghurs is part of an effort by (Chinese) authorities to use detentions and data-driven surveillance to create a police state in the Xinjiang region," the Treasury said.

The Treasury also accused North Korea's government-run animation firm, SEK Studio, and companies and individuals related to it, of exploiting North Korean workers to earn much-needed foreign exchange and avoid sanctions on the country.

SEK Studio has an international reputation and has contributed work to big-budget animated features including Disney's "Pocahontas" and "The Lion King."

Also hit with sanctions was North Korean Minister of People's Armed Forces Ri Yong Gil.

They are the first new US sanctions to target North Korea since President Joe Biden took office.

In additional actions to mark Human Rights Day 2021, the Treasury added four Myanmar state and region chief ministers to its sanctions blacklist, accusing them of participating in "brutal crackdowns" against the Myanmar people.

A Bangladesh internal security unit, the Rapid Action Battalion, which is accused of involvement in nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018, was also included.

In a parallel, the US State Department announced Friday the blacklisting of 12 officials from China, Uganda, Belarus, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico "for their involvement in gross violations of human rights."

"We are determined to put human rights at the center of our foreign policy, and we reaffirm this commitment by using appropriate tools and authorities to draw attention to and promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Check out DH's latest videos: