In February 2019, bin Salman defended China's Xinjiang re-education camps for Uyghurs and Muslims, saying "China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremisation work for its national security." Bin Salman's comments received severe criticism worldwide.[242][243][244] The Chinese Communist Party has imprisoned up to 2 million Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in China's north-western province of Xinjiang in concentration camps, where they are allegedly subjected to abuse and torture.[242][244] Miqdaad Versi, spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain, called bin Salman's remarks "disgusting" and a defence of "the use of concentration camps against Uighur Muslims".[245]