I'm in Almaty, Kazakhstan's second city and a bustling metropolis

to investigate a trail that begins hundreds of kilometres away

in the fields of northwest China.

It's a story of serious human rights abuses, mass detentions, and of forced labor.

And it's about where some of the products of that forced labor end up.

I must say, I've never been on a deployment that has made me feel so paranoid

and made me feel like I need to look over my shoulder quite as much.

Even here, on the streets of another country,

those who dare speak out about these things don't feel safe.

We've come to a secret location.

To meet a man we're calling Mehmet.

After months of back and forth, he's agreed to speak to us, but he's worried.

He's scared, just like everyone is, and the paranoia is starting to set in on my side too.

Are we being followed?

Everyone is frightened to talk.

We all still have relatives in Xinjiang,

and if they find out, they will imprison them.

They will threaten them.

Mehmet fled Xinjiang five years ago.

Mehmet isn't his real name, and he's asked that we don't use his real voice.

You know, when I think of Xinjiang, I think of police cars and of police sirens and all the district and neighborhoods, even the schools,

surrounded by these metal fences like a prison.

...